site.btaEuropean Economic and Social Committee President Boland: Civil Society Is Democracy’s Last Pillar

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.