A new source of legislative initiative

The General Affairs Council yesterday (14 June) outlined a "general approach" to the European Citizens' Initiative, paving the way for citizens to call on the European Commission to table legislative proposals on specific issues. 

No doubt this development will generate many comments, most of them welcoming this new democratic tool to express the vox populi. But we BR experts know that the statute book is already replete with volumes of legislation on all possible topics, and that politicians are rarely slow to seize the mood of the public when it is asking for more regulation. But this key item of the Lisbon Treaty may still prove useful, as it is aimed at supplementing the Commission's right of proposal. See European Council site, and Euractiv dossier, for more.