The Lisbon Treaty

By now you should be well aware that we're aiming for our petition to gain one million signatures. Rest assured, this figure wasn't one we simply plucked out of thin air. There's a valid reason behind this hefty target which is derived from the Lisbon Treaty...

The Lisbon Treaty is an international agreement signed in the Portuguese capital on the 13th December 2007. If ratified, the Treaty will bring about several changes within the workings of the EU and the one we are most interested in here at right2bet is the implementation of "The European Citizens' Initiative".

The European Citizens Initiative (ECI) states that if citizens of Member States can gather a petition of one million signatures, they will be able to present this to the European Commission, who in turn would be compelled to act upon it.

The initiative is highly significant as it gives us citizens the kind of access to European decision-makers we have not experienced before.

By giving us the potential to effectively propose legislation to the Commission, citizens will, when it comes to legislative initiative, gain similar powers to the European Parliament & Council of the European Union.

Although it was initially thought that the Treaty would be ratified by January 2009, as of yet we are still waiting on all 27 Members to approve the Treaty before it can come into force.

If ratified, the ECI will represent a huge leap forward for democracy in the EU and will offer the voices of 500 Million EU citizens a direct pathway to the ears of the European Commission.

So be a part of history and help us be the first to utilize the new initiative by registering your vote here.

Lisbon Treaty Key Facts

• The Treaty was signed on the 13th December 2007.
• The Treaty ammends current EU & EC Treaties.
• The Treaty will grant greater legislative powers to the European Parliament.
• The Treaty brings into force the ECI which allows citizens to call on the Commission to bring forward new policy proposals, through a petition of one million signatures.
• The Treaty recognizes the right of a Member State to withdraw from the Union.
• The Treaty has not yet been ratified and has therefor not yet come into force.
• To come into force, all 27 Member States must approve of the Treaty.

To find out more click here.