By Martin Banks - 26th January 2012
I am still hopeful this will be up and running
Maroš Šefcovic
EU commissioner Maroš Šefcovic has appealed to member states to ensure the 'citizen's initiative' is up and running by 1 April.
Speaking at a news conference in Brussels on Thursday, the official also said social media, such as Facebook, had a "crucial" role to play in promoting the flagship EU initiative.
Šefcovic, a vice president of the commission, said, "I am pleading with member states to help make this scheme a success.
"I do not want anything that will hamper or limit the effectiveness of this."
The citizen's initiative was set up by the Lisbon treaty in an attempt to help bridge the "democratic deficit" between the EU and citizens.
The public can invite the commission to draft a legislative proposal, providing at least one million signatures have been gathered.
However, Šefcovic revealed that, so far, one third of member states have yet to put in place the necessary "infrastructure" or procedures in order to make the scheme operational from 1 April.
This mostly includes verification systems for checking the validity of signatures.
He said, "I am still hopeful this will be up and running by then. But this will be despite, not because of, the potential readiness of certain member states."
He said member states "had no excuse" for failing to support the scheme, particularly as it had been developed in a "user-friendly" way for citizens.
"It has not been easy to get to this stage and has taken 10 years of hard work. The commission has done its work in developing this important tool and it is now up to member states to do the same."
The commissioner also said that social media would have an important part to play in raising public awareness of the scheme, saying, "they have a unique way of mobilising public awareness of certain issues."
He was taking part on Thursday in a one-day conference, "Warming up for the citizens' initiative", at the commission's Charlemagne building.
