Petitions: PEOPLE POWER
Power to the people! A way that anyone can hold those stalking the halls of power to account, raise important issues and shine a light on them. Even though you probably were not out looking for an article on petitions, please stick with me here and give this a chance. It may not sound like the most compelling topic to give your time to but it is one of the most important rights that we, as European Citizens, have.
The right to petition is a fundamental democratic right enshrined in the constitutions of European nations and the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. The procedures and thresholds vary from state to state and again for the European Parliament but it is important to know what rights you have - and this is one that gives you direct power to affect change. Any (adult) European citizen can start or sign a petition at the EU or state level. Just as I finished the previous sentence and before starting this one I signed an EU petition. It took me less than 2 minutes. Do you have 2 mins to spare right now? Do it! I don’t care if you don’t come back to read the rest of this article. Have a look at Sign or start a European citizens’ initiative.
This form of civic engagement has multiple success stories in the past years. Ranging from issues on consumer rights to the environment and healthcare. In 2023 the ECI petition “Save Cruelty-Free Cosmetics – Commit to a Europe without Animal Testing” gathered enough support, resulting in a debate in the European Parliament, meetings with the European Commission and the commitment from the European commission to further strengthen the cosmetics animal testing ban and working towards eliminating animal testing in the context of chemicals legislation and to reduce animal testing in research, science and education. The are many success stories at the national levels too - and while it may seem that change is always slow to come - it is a direct path to action that any ordinary citizen can participate in and if more people did engage then who knows what change could be brought to bear?
Generated with the help of AI
It may seem daunting to try and find what petitions are active in your country and even more so to even think about starting one yourself. We have built a petitions directory to help you navigate it as easily as possible. There are many civic organizations like change.org that make it easy to get involved - so doing a small bit for your beliefs, country, society and fellow citizens has never been easier.
We are planning to launch our own petitions in the coming months so watch this space! And we are very interested to hear what you think of our first concepts as well as topics you think should be raised at the national and European level. Our starting petitions will focus on one at the national level where we are based: Portugal and another at the European Level. What do you think of these issues? Do you think we should be focusing on a different topic? Let us know!
Portugal: Protection for Lower Income Households by creating additional IRS and Social Security Payment exemptions for lower incomes to strengthen the current ‘mínimo de existência’ framework.
European Parliament: Update to the European Parliament Code of Conduct to include requirements on Public Retractions and Corrections of Material Misrepresentation. Where an MEP, in the exercise of parliamentary functions or in an official communication, makes a materially false statement of fact that is presented as factual and is likely to mislead the public.
Further Reading:
https://www.notoapathy.com/petitions
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2025/767225/EPRS_BRI(2025)767225_EN.pdf
