Why EU Direct Democracy Has Struggled To Take Off

2026-02-05 04:09:09

(MENAFN- Swissinfo) Well over a decade after its launch, the European Union's tool for citizen participation has largely failed to take off, especially set against the extensive popular rights enjoyed in Switzerland. Why? An analysis by Domhnall O'Sullivan. Select your language

Generated with artificial intelligence. Listening: Why EU direct democracy has struggled to take off This content was published on February 5, 2026 - 09:00 7 minutes

As part of the democracy team, I report on the dynamic relationship between citizens and their institutions in Switzerland and abroad. Born in Ireland, I have a BA in European Studies and MA in International Relations. I've been at SWI swissinfo since 2017.

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As ongoing debates over a new set of bilateral deals with Brussels show, any hint of European Union (EU) meddling in Swiss domestic affairs – and especially its direct democracy – tends to spark criticism. But influence can flow the other way too.

Recently, a European Citizens' Initiative (ECI) – a signature-gathering tool for proposing EU reform – came with a Swiss twist.“HouseEurope!External link”, which called for incentives to renovate rather than demolish old buildings, was linked to Switzerland's top university, the federal institute of technology ETH Zurich. Not only did a professor from its architecture department co-initiate the campaign; the department itself is listed as having contributed CHF50,000 ($63,300) to it. A canton Zug foundation was also a donor.

Foreign interference from a non-EU state? Not according to ETH Zurich – the CHF50,000, it told Swissinfo, was an estimate of“non-monetary support” like research input, not a cash donation. But the initiative is still revealing for a more prosaic reason: despite Swiss-based backing, it turned out to be a textbook ECI – it failed. By the January 31 deadline, it had gathered some 83,000 names; one million are required.

Signature problem

In missing the mark, it is in good company. Since the ECI was introduced in 2012, just 14 of 125 registered initiatives have managed to reach the threshold necessary to put a proposal onto the European Commission's desk. As such, while its supporters still describe the ECI as the world's only transnational instrument of direct democracy, even they admit it has fallen short of its original aim: to help close the EU's democratic deficit – the gap between decision-makers in Brussels and citizens on the continent, who feel their voice is not heard.

Struggles to meet the signature quota are one symptom, which a look at Switzerland helps to put in context. In the Alpine nation – which admittedly has a long direct democracy tradition – campaigners routinely collect the 100,000 names needed to force a constitutional vote. The ECI threshold, at one million, is ten times higher – but then the EU's population is 55 times bigger. And yet most ECIs never come close; many fizzle out with a few thousand names.

External Content

One reason for this is obvious: the transnational nature of the tool. It's neither easy nor cheap to run a campaign across multiple languages and countries (signature thresholds also need to be met in at least seven EU states). Public visibility is also tough in a continent-wide setting, where media remain largely national and EU issues rarely dominate headlines. Meanwhile, political parties – and private firms – which are important for signature-gathering in Switzerland, are less engaged at the EU level, leaving campaigns more dependent on NGOs and private donors.

For an overview of how popular initiatives and referendums work in Switzerland, watch our video explainer below:

More More Swiss democracy How Swiss direct democracy works

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