Research Papers

This paper will ask whether the new participatory opportunity provided by the European Citizens’ Initiative (art 11 TUE) fosters new ways of European collective action by civil society networks not based in Brussels be it pan-European social movements or national organisations. This would suggest the emergence of an alternative European collective action regime focusing more strongly on grassroots mobilisation rather than networking at the EU level. This paper compares and contrasts which civil society organisations have launched ECIs with organisations participating in civil society consultations with the Commission in order to test whether the organisation and diffusion of ECIs is carried out by Brussels established organisations or not and whether it attracts organisations new organisations to participate in policy discussions and thus make the field of EU civil society more diverse. In particular it will be analysed whether organisations participating in ECI campaigns subsequently register in the Transparency Register or participate in consultations as those are indicators’ of organisations’ will to engage in closer relations with EU institutions.