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[MUSIC]
It's democracy. On your terms.
A movement. And the future of democracy in Europe.
It's called the European Citizen's Initiative and it needs your input.
for the first time in the history of European
integration, EU law has enabled 1 million of its
citizens, just like you, to demand that your leaders
in Brussels listen to the voice of the people.
And by the end
of this video the only question you'll be asking yourself
is, how can I change the face of the European union.
Here's how it works.
>> Step 1.
First, you'll need to grab 6 other friends,
who come from 6 other EU member states.
Are you counting? That means 7.
Count then 7 people like you from 7 different countries.
It doesn't matter if your friends look like this Or this, or even this.
Then you guys get together and make a committee.
It's kind of like a party with a lot more people.
In fact, once you have your committee, then you have
to figure out what you want to change in Europe.
Okay so let's say you want to create a European
day devoted to posting pictures of kittens on the internet.
Or you want to propose a framework to ensure responsible waste managing,
by all members of the European Union. I know,
I like kitten day better too.
Step 2, go to Brussels and register your committee and
your proposal with the European commision, hopefully they will say yes.
As long as you stay within their guidelines you should be fine.
So let's hope they like kittens. Or a waste management, whatever.
Step 3, get 1 million signatures from across
the European Union, face to face or online.
Actually, you only need to cover seven European countries.
And don't worry, most people find kittens cute or at least they find waste bad.
Remember you only have 1 year to collect all your signatures, so get started.
>> Step 4, the government of every country where you
got signatures, has to check that these people actually exist.
So no counting your Uncle Gene twice, or copying names from a
1968 Amsterdam phone book.
Step 5, go to Brussels and tell the European leaders that you did it.
Now, they have to listen to you.
Step 6.
Actually, the heads of the European Union have to invite you
into their big offices and listen carefully to your every word.
Wait for the European leaders to decide whether or not
they are going to put Kitten Day up to a vote before
the European Parliament.
Or whether they will put forward your framework of
7 waste management principles that could save the planet.
If they don't accept your proposal, they have to
explain to you, at length, why kittens are not cute,
or why they don't want to save the planet.
And to be sure, the news is going to be all over Europe.
So one way or another, your idea is going to make headlines.
Of course,
if the European Union does like your idea, they will
put it up for a vote in the European Parliament.
If it passes, you can mark your calendars and upload your kitten pictures,
or go ahead and throw out your trash and enjoy those waste principle.
>> But wait.
More than a year has past since the law went into effect.
Why hasn't anyone succeeded?
What if a year is too short to collect 1 million signatures?
What about those countries that require citizens to give
personal identification numbers just to verify petition signatures? What
if the EU could set up a website to
make it easy to collect signatures across the European Union?
Maybe the European Commission shouldn't be the one to decide
whether the European Parliament hears the voice of the people.
Maybe getting signatures in 7 countries is just too expensive
for average people like you and me to ever finish.
Only you can
answer these questions.
Only European citizens can decide what
the European Citizens Initiative will look like.
Before the European Union takes another look at
the European Citizens Initiative, the European Ombudsman, Emily
O'Reilly has asked us to give her your
input about the future of direct democracy in Europe.
In the future, the European Citizens Initiative
will the change the face of Europe forever.
You can change the initiative today.
Now are you ready to change the face of the EU?
We're here to support you.
[BLANK_AUDIO]