What Role for the Court of Justice of the European Union in the Development of the European Citizens’ Initiative?

According to Article 4 of Regulation 211/2011, a preliminary examination of proposed European Citizens’ Initiatives (ECIs) by the Commission takes place at the registration stage. A proposed ECI will not be registered if it does not comply with minimum legal criteria (Article 4(2) ECI Regulation); most importantly if it ‘manifestly’ falls outside the framework of the Commission’s powers to submit a proposal. Nonetheless, there are no guidelines for the meaning of the term ‘manifestly’; the Commission is left with discretion to interpret the admissibility criteria. Given that this preliminary assessment should be made strictly on the basis of legal considerations, the ECI Regulation allows for judicial appeal by the organisers before the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in case of rejection on grounds of admissibility. The organisers of four proposed ECIs currently request the Court to annul the decisions of the Commission , which rejected their proposals on the ground that their subject matter fell outside the framework of the institution’s powers to propose legal acts. As a commentary of the pending cases, the paper will provide an overview of alternative approaches that the Court could follow in its decisions and will discuss the Court’s plausible interpretation of issues arising from the ECI Regulation. It will also delve into issues of legal admissibility of ECIs, which ultimately define the extent to which EU citizens can use an ECI as a way to propose legislation at EU level.