MEPs want the Citizens' Initiative to be easy to use, no ID card numbers needed and a lower threshold for the number of Member States. Crime victims should receive protection even when they move to another Member State.

The News: Easy-to-use Initiatives - Keeping victims safe

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Home straight  for the Citizens' Initiative.

The beginning of direct democracy  in the EU, or a real assault course?

Are all victims equal in the EU?  Not at the moment.

We see how their protection  could be guaranteed beyond borders.

And finally,  the rest of the news in brief.

Most Europeans feel far removed  from Brussels and the EU institutions.

But with one million signatures  direct democracy is within their reach,

although under conditions -  too many, some think.

Avaaz which organises online petitions  joins in the debate and asks the EP

to ensure that the Citizens’ Initiative  doesn’t become an assault course.

Some in the Council want  strict time limits,

citizens to provide ID card or passport  numbers whenever they sign a petition

to achieve the threshold of  one million citizens from across the EU.

On Tuesday MEPs adopted a simplified  procedure to avoid disappointments.

Instead of waiting for 300,000 signatures  to check the admissibility,

MEPs suggest studying it from the start.

Registering it would need a committee  of citizens from seven Member States.

So if we say, after 300,000 signatures,  that you cannot do it,

because it is not precisely within  the competencies of the Commission -

and it must be within its competencies -  it would be too late.

MEPs decided against  lowering the minimum age to 16,

and asked for signatures  to come from at least 1/5 of EU countries.

But if the initiative fulfils all the criteria,  will it become law automatically?

This is what’s called an agenda setting  initiative. So it has huge potential.

The Commission have to take it as  seriously as an initiative from the EP.

An Avaaz petition on GMOs has already  reached the million signatures,

but to see whether  it'll be taken into account

we must wait  until the vote in December.

A Christmas present  that some fear already.

in Europe, thousands of people  are under legal protection

because they are threatened  with violence.

These protection measures  are set by the courts.

They help prevent subsequent offences  by the perpetrators.

When I don’t want to  do these things, he hits me.

He threatens to disfigure me,  if I don’t withdraw my complaint.

He won’t leave me alone. Before the  judge and police, he denied everything.

Protection can mean banning the  aggressor from contacting their victim

But when the victim moves to another  EU country, it’s back to the courts.

The victim has to restart the process  if they want to be protected again.

In many cases the victim wants to flee  or seek refuge in another EU country.

So that they don’t need  to restart the process,

we want the protection order  to be valid in any Member State

that the victim wants  to reside in or to go to.

A European draft law  going in this direction

has been approved by a large majority  of MEPs in a parliamentary committee.

It’s a step forward,  but we’re not there yet,

because there are still plenty of obstacles.  There are 27 Member States,

27 legislations that are  far from being harmonised,

27 definitions of a criminal act  or of the competent jurisdiction.

The full Parliament must vote on  the future directive in December.

If the text is adopted, EU countries will  have three years to apply the measures.

Slow take-off. On day two of  the UN Climate Conference in Cancun,

the US was ready to base a deal  on last year’s Copenhagen compromise.

For the poorer countries the text  is not enough to stop global warming.

wants to see an accord with developing  countries before the summit ends.

The EU needs more ambitious measures  to regulate the economy,

said the ECB President.  Jean-Claude Trichet

supports the Commission’s latest  proposals on financial control,

but asks MEPs to propose  tougher measures

so as not to let certain Member States  put stability and growth at risk.

Prioritise tackling Alzheimer’s and  neurodegenerative diseases, asks the EP.

MEPs call on the Member States  to develop strategies

for coping and doing more  to help sufferers and their families.