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Would you like to see a Europe without animal testing? Guarantee legal and safe access to abortion<\/strong><\/a>? Or eliminate toxic pesticides from the environment? Collect one million signatures in a year, and you\u2019ll get the chance to help shape the EU\u2019s agenda.\u00a0<\/p>\n That\u2019s the promise behind the European Citizens\u2019 Initiatives (ECI)\u2014an official participatory democracy tool launched in 2012 to give citizens a direct say in policymaking.\u00a0<\/p>\n But 12 years on, the numbers suggest a disconnect: 144 initiatives launched, only 10 received a formal response from the European Commission.\u00a0<\/p>\n It begs the question: is this tool truly empowering citizens, or has it turned into a digital suggestion box collecting dust?\u00a0<\/p>\n According to Professor Alberto Alemanno, founder of The Good Lobby, ECI are \u201ca potentially revolutionary mechanism\u201d\u2014but one that has struggled to gain traction. \u201cThe ECI remain little known and underused (…) Of these 121 registered initiatives, only 14 reached the one million signature threshold, representing a success rate of nearly 12%,\u201d he told Euronews.\u00a0<\/p>\n European Ombudsman Teresa Anjinho agrees that the idea behind ECI is powerful \u2014 but says it hasn\u2019t lived up to expectations.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe need to improve communication about its purposes and functions. Awareness campaigns must be strengthened so that citizens are fully informed about what an ECI can and cannot do, and take action,\u201d she said in June<\/strong><\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Since 2019, the number of initiatives registered has been going down. But transparency advocates like The Good Lobby expect a potential comeback \u2014 as civil society loses access to power and faces increasing pressure<\/strong><\/a> across the EU.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u2018Don\u2019t you worry, citizen\u2019: The Commission says all is well<\/p>\n Far from any self-criticism, the Commission does not consider that this mechanism is not working effectively, nor does it propose any kind of review or reform of it. In fact, its spokesperson Olof Gill believes that ECI is an instrument that allows citizens to influence the EU’s agenda and work\u2014 one that has already yielded tangible results.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cSeveral legislative acts triggered by successful ECI already apply, such as the\u00a0revised Drinking Water directive, the\u00a0regulation on the transparency and sustainability of the EU risk assessment in the food chain, and the\u00a0Nature Restoration law,\u201d Gill told Euronews.\u00a0<\/p>\n