EUROPEAN CITIZENS INITIATIVE- THE BASIC ELEMENT OF EUROPEAN PARTICIPATION DEMOCRACY

The European Citizens' Initiative is one of the major innovations introduced by the Treaty of Lisbon, which aims to improve the participation of citizens of the European Union in the process of drafting European legislation. The European Citizens' Initiative is a form of direct democracy and consists of an invitation addressed to the European Commission by European citizens to propose legislation on areas where the EU has the power to legislate. According to Article 20 TEU, citizenship of the Union is established. Every citizen of the Union is a citizen of the Union. Citizenship of the Union does not replace national citizenship but is added to it. European citizenship as a complementary prerogative of national citizenship and not a substitute for it. The basic citizenship of any person is determined according to internal legal norms, and European citizenship is a consequence of holding a citizenship of a state that is a member of the European Union.