Balgarianovinite.com Citizens must be actively involved in decision-making processes in the European Union, particularly at a time of international instability and ahead of difficult political choices, Assya Kavrakova, Executive Director of the European Citizen Action Service, said in a BTA interview in Brussels during Civil Society Week organized by the European Economic and Social Committee.
She said that citizens are the ultimate beneficiaries of legislation and that the success of its implementation largely depends on them.
“The extent to which legislation will be implemented successfully depends very much on how legitimate it is in the eyes of citizens, because they are the ones who encounter it in their daily lives,” Kavrakova said, adding that “even the most ambitious policies, which may be meaningful, would fail without public support”.
She pointed out that under the current international circumstances, the European Union is likely to have to take unpopular decisions, including those involving the redistribution of resources and the adoption of new policies. In her view, however, such measures can only succeed if citizens are engaged in the decision-making process and support them.
Kavrakova also emphasized the importance of the European Citizens’ Initiative, which she described as a unique tool for citizen participation in democratic processes at EU level. Through this instrument, citizens from at least seven EU Member States can, if they collect one million signatures, ask the European Commission to propose legislation on a specific issue.
According to her, not only the European Commission but also other EU institutions and Member States need to be more engaged in follow-up action on citizens’ initiatives.
“There must be mechanisms for recognizing demands not only from so-called successful initiatives – those that have collected one million signatures. Of course, in their case this should be unquestionable, but initiatives that have not reached this threshold should also be taken seriously, because they show what citizens need and what they want,” she added.
Kavrakova also stressed that Bulgaria has not been a country initiating European Citizens’ Initiatives. The only such attempt was the initiative “No EU Funds for countries without an independent judiciary and rule of law,” which, she said, did not even reach the stage of collecting public support. Citizens Must Be Actively Involved in EU Decision-Making, Especially in Times of Global Instability, Says ECAS Director Kavrakova 2026 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-03-05 17:24:00 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law
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