[alexandrerond]

For everyone that is worried about the data being collected:

This is not your regular online-petition. This is an European Citizens' Initiative. It is an official procedure and the only mechanism the European Union gives their citizens to directly put topics on the Commission's table without being mediated by their politicians.

The EU makes it extremely difficult to succeed even getting them to discuss something. Most ECIs attempts are striked off before they are even allowed to collect signatures. The fact that this initiative has been allowed to start collecting signatures is already a great success and means it may get somewhere.

Signature collection is certified by the German authorities (https://sign.reclaimyourface.eu/api/d/certification.pdf) and needs to follow strict data compliance rules (another hurdle).

Getting an ECI to qualify (1 million signatures or enough signatures in some countries) is very difficult, but achieving it sends a strong signal to EU leadership about what citizens worry about. Asking for your name and personal ID number is the minimum information needed to ensure the system is otherwise not abused, so that authorities can do minimal verification about the signers. Note that in the early days of ECIs, online collection was not even allowed. Authorities in each country are in charge of verifying the signatures from that country.

So please, if you are an European citizen and agree with the goals of this ECI, sign it and do something good with your data. You do not have to sign up for the newsletter or provide an email. Don't let 1 tree block the view of the forest.

If you want to read about the process and how it can be useful or useless, and what hurdles organizers need to go through, check the actual regulation: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/en/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELE... .

[RicoElectrico]

For the amount of bona-fide progress they pushed, the European Parliament has some un-democratic elements. Many of the votes are just decided with a show of hands, even though there's electronic system in place[1]. Sure it wouldn't change the outcome, but always voting electronically would ensure accountability of MEPs to people they represent.

[1] https://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP/...

[estaseuropano]

I agree but there's also another side: voting by show of hands makes it more difficult for parties to enforce voting discipline. This in turn means MEPs have more of a choice.

All important votes are however anyway with electronic voting.

[VSerge]

Thanks for pointing this out, as it can be surprising to be asked one's address and full first names. This is not just a petition but actually a legal tool and it makes a big difference. Entirely worth it in order to stand united as citizens and demand the EU doesn't go the way of say, China, with mass surveillance and all the dystopian stuff that can arise from it (to remain with China's example: giving citizens social scores and giving them more or less rights depending on that).

[logifail]

> This is not just a petition but actually a legal tool and it makes a big difference

(Genuine question) what difference does it actually make?

I don't mean in terms of "sending a strong signal" or "issue will be debated in Parliament", or "the Commission publishes a paper/gives a press conference/say they really care", I mean in terms of something actually changing?

[rsynnott]

It's far easier for the Commission to simply not consider something that they don't want to deal with than to say no to something that is demonstrably popular, after having been forced to consider it.

> the Commission publishes a paper/gives a press conference/say they really care

That's not what the Commission does. After considering it, it can either do nothing, or introduce legislation. This would be an improvement on the current situation where it probably won't even consider it of its own initiative.

[lou1306]

A successful ECI must be officially addressed by the Commission. I agree they can just sweep it under the rug, but that's true of any "citizens' initiative" process.

[corty]

In German states, the citizen initiative process is to propose a law that can be voted on by the people if enough signatures have been collected. In some states, even changes to the constitution are possible this way. The federal and European government are quite undemocratic in that regard.

[almamater]

We can find out, no? But we'd have to try first.

[almamater]

See data requirements for each country here: https://europa.eu/citizens-initiative/data-requirements_en

[estaseuropano]

If I understand well they vet the petitions because many proposals don't relate to EU law. If it relates to EU law and has not been done in the past it should normally pass?

[tunnuz]

Thanks for the extra info.