Vote Early, Vote Often’ campaign in May 2014, urging a high turnout for the May 2014 European Parliament elections. It did not achieve this goal, receiving far fewer votes than in the previous three European Parliament elections in 2009, 2004, and 1999. In his first speech after being elected MEP in July 2014, Frans Timmermans commented that after failing to achieve our goal, the movement needed a new target. The question is what should this target be? Last year, there was debate about a European Citizens’ Initiative: a petition for an EU law. A referendum was part of the proposition but not the main element. There are major differences with this initiative and our current campaign. The petition would primarily have been addressed to the EU member states and secondarily to the EU institutions. It would have required some 2 million signatures to guarantee an official response from the institutions, a heavy burden. To reach that number, it would have been necessary to run a publicity campaign for months in the national capitals and throughout Europe. The proposal has been rejected by the institutions. A successful outcome of the referendum, by contrast, would be in accordance with the rules of the Treaty of Lisbon, would oblige the EU institutions to respond quickly, and would be easier to achieve. Vote Early, Vote Often would benefit from a successful referendum. Our citizens will need to show their support at each and every election as they know well that the best decisions are taken at local level. The campaign, therefore, needs to be localised. It is not just a matter of ‘us’. The campaign should also be about ‘them’. They are the people in positions of power whom the referendum will directly impact. The referendum also carries a message about our society, the country where we live, and its place in the world. An EU country may have different priorities to a non-EU country, for example on how much emphasis is given to social protection and healthcare. This referendum would be a chance to show our diversity to the world. While the Commission has no role to play in a citizens’ initiative, it would obviously do so in a referendum. The people would have the opportunity to make a direct choice between two positions. It is therefore important to ensure that as much information as possible is available to the EU citizens so that they can make an informed decision. They should, however, remember that referendum or no referendum, they will vote in their countries and be part of those choices. A referendum may also be a good way to ensure a high turnout. Research shows that high turnouts are an expression of democratic participation, that the electoral process is worth doing and does matter. We have succeeded in achieving this goal with local and European elections. With a referendum, the people could experience democracy at its most powerful, at the time when it matters most. So here is what we want to achieve, and the next steps: We want the EU Commission to support a referendum on the proposed Euro Plus Pact at the European Council in February. The Commission will take the initiative of organising a high-level conference of all national governments and parliaments to exchange views on the subject. In the Council of Ministers of the EU, the Luxembourg Presidency will hold a debate on 6 December 2016 on an open European Council debate with the participation of national parliaments. The next step should be to launch the campaign in December and gather signatures in January 2017. The petition will be sent to EU institutions and to the European Council to be discussed at their next meeting on 8 February 2017. How can I get involved? Get started by going to the European Citizen’s Initiative website, collecting some signatures, and then adding your signature in a separate paragraph: https://citizen.brussels/eu-campaigns/euro-plus-referendum/vote-early-vote-often/pourquoi-notre-referendum. The more signatures, the better. Finally, if you want to volunteer to make the information available to EU citizens, you could become a ‘Euro+ Referendum Ambassadors’. See www.europlusreferendum.eu for more information. This debate has been opened in the European Parliament. (1) This is an unofficial translation of the press release issued by the European Commission’s directorate-general for communications. It is part of the communication campaign “More Europe, a stronger Europe”. “More Europe, a stronger Europe” will run until 8 February 2017 in order to mark the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Commission. (2) According to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, a qualified majority is defined in Article 48(2) as follows: “any measure whose adoption by the Council acting by a qualified majority is necessary for the adoption of that measure in accordance with that Article”. (3) With regard to this position, see article 38, paragraph 4, TFEU. https://www.facebook.com/votemediemember.eu