The European Citizens’ Initiative
is not a regular petition that institutions can ignore. It is an official democratic right, guaranteed by the Treaty of Lisbon, through which European citizens can place an issue on the legislative agenda of the European Union.
In concrete terms: if we gather 1 million signatures from at least 7 member states, the European Commission is legally required to examine the proposal and respond publicly. It cannot remain silent. It cannot ignore it. It must provide an official and reasoned response.
It is not guaranteed that the proposal becomes law — but it is guaranteed that it reaches those who have the power to make that happen.
Where we are now — Phase 0 (in progress)
We are building the citizens’ committee from at least 7 EU member states. This is the formal requirement to officially register the initiative with the European Commission.
How the proposal reaches Brussels — step by step
Step 1 — Form the citizens’ committee. A minimum of 7 EU citizens, from 7 different member states, form the organizing committee. The committee is legally responsible to the European Commission for carrying out the initiative. We are currently looking for these people.
Step 2 — Officially register the initiative. The committee submits the initiative to the European Commission. The Commission checks whether the proposal complies with EU treaties. If accepted, we receive approval to begin collecting signatures.
Step 3 — 12 months to collect 1 million signatures. From the moment of approval, we have 12 months to gather at least 1 million signatures from at least 7 EU member states. Signatures can be collected online or through official forms.
Step 4 — Signatures are officially verified. The signatures are sent to national authorities in each member state for verification. If the threshold of 1 million is validated, the initiative is considered successful.
Step 5 — Hearing at the European Parliament. The organizers present the proposal to the European Commission. A public hearing takes place in the European Parliament — the moment when the idea officially reaches EU decision-makers.
Step 6 — European Commission official response. The Commission is required to examine the proposal and respond within 6 months — publicly justifying any decision, including if it chooses not to propose legislation.
Why this proposal has a chance
Many European citizens’ initiatives request entirely new things — new infrastructure, new institutions, new budgets. These are politically difficult to approve. VerifySocial is different:
- The digital ID already exists — funded and developed by member states under legal obligation.
- The platform obligation already exists — the DSA is in force and applicable.
- We are not asking for additional funding — we are not proposing new infrastructure that requires cost.
- We are not asking for radical change — we are asking to use what already exists.
The only thing we are asking for is a simple rule that connects two already approved elements. This makes the proposal much harder to reject politically.
[Editorial note: The two laws (eIDAS 2.0 and DSA) are fully explained on the Verify Social page. Here we only mention the essentials.]
➡️ Discover how VerifySocial works in practice →
What we are asking for
We are not asking for a new law built from scratch. We are asking for two already approved European laws — the digital ID (eIDAS 2.0) and the law requiring platforms to combat fake accounts (DSA) — to be connected through a simple and clear rule:
Large platforms should be required to accept the European digital ID as an optional method through which users can confirm they are real people.
That’s it. Nothing more.
The most important thing right now
Forming the citizens’ committee. If you are a citizen of an EU member state — anywhere in Europe — and you believe the internet should reflect real voices, not networks of fake accounts, your involvement matters now more than ever.
➡️ Find out how you can get involved
➡️ Learn how online manipulation works