Balgarianovinite.com Ten European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) campaigns were presented at the European Economic and Social Committee’s (EESC) Civil Society Week in Brussels on Tuesday, where EESC President Seamus Boland called civil society “the last pillar of democracy” and urged EU institutions to take more tangible follow-up action on successful initiatives.
One of the initiatives, My Voice, My Choice: For Safe And Accessible Abortion, said it has gathered more than 1.1 million signatures in support of safe and accessible abortion across the European Union, citing restricted or difficult access in some Member States, including Poland. Supporters noted that the European Parliament backed the initiative at the end of 2025, and that on February 26, 2026, the European Commission responded positively, saying existing EU funds could be used by Member States to help guarantee access.
Other initiatives presented included calls to ban so-called conversion practices targeting LGBTQ+ people, protect air passengers, strengthen the right to healthy and sustainable food, end imports from Russia, promote ethics and transparency for European political parties, and initiatives linked to human rights and EU relations with Israel.
Boland said civic participation was essential in shaping policy amid growing geopolitical and social tensions, stressing that “if it’s about us, don’t do it without us,” and pointing to low participation rates. He argued that collecting one million signatures should trigger a clearer mechanism obliging EU institutions to act.
European Ombudsman Teresa Anjinho described ECI as a “democratic radar” and an early warning system showing what concerns Europeans, but warned that participation alone was not enough without visible accountability. European Citizen Action Service (ECAS) Executive Director Assya Kavrakova called for stronger “social resilience,” including digital, media and civic resilience, and said institutions should not stop at hearings without meaningful follow-up.
ECI allows citizens, after collecting at least one million signatures from at least seven countries, to ask the European Commission to propose EU legislation. Since its launch in April 2012, 127 initiatives have been registered; 14 collected the required number of signatures and 12 received an official Commission response, with initiatives such as End the Cage Age and My Voice, My Choice among those that prompted follow-up steps. European Economic and Social Committee President Boland: Civil Society Is Democracy’s Last Pillar 2026 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-03-03 15:50:07 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
