36
ECI POCKET GUIDE – A USER MANUAL TO THE FIRST TRANSNATIONAL TOOL OF DIRECT DEMOCRACY
When it comes to choosing an electronic “ECI residence” in one of the Member States, language may play a decisive role. You may want to choose a national authority with which you can communicate in your native language. After you request a certificate, your chosen authority must issue the required “electronic stamp” – without which no electronic gathering of signatures will be possible at all – within 30 days. This certificate you will have to upload during the setup of your OCS in the System Status section as shown here But there is another important issue to consider: you are not allowed to collect email addresses for campaign or information purposes on the official signature forms (online and paper). Instead, you need to ask people separately whether they wish to receive more information and stay in touch with you and your campaign. There are two more things to examine at this preparatory stage: c) try to maximise the chances for the admissibility of your ECI in terms of both content and structure by carefully studying every step required at the moment of registration, which we will detail in Step 5; and
d) prepare yourself for the demanding signature gathering period by carefully planning your campaign. While the formal admissibility issue challenges your legal expertise, the campaign strategy element addresses your political ability to deliver a clear message, formulate a strategic plan and build a comprehensive network of supporters. To kick-start your campaign we recommend that you try to get as many signatures as possible, as quickly as possible, in at least 3-4 big Member States. Such a strategy can minimize the risk of failing in the second of the signature gathering campaigns and maximize the dynamic of your ECI. In other words, you need your campaign strategy to be in place before you request your registration number. You should also try to have your OCS certificate ready at this point in time. If you need more assistance or support during this preparatory phase, the Commission provides an ECI hotline through Europe Direct (Tel. number: 0080067891011). However, this personal phone service is very limited in the extent to which it can give you expert insights, so you may wish to contact the relevant staff at the EU Commission directly, or consult with third-party experts. For a full list of contacts please check out our RESOURCE CENTRE section at the end of the POCKET GUIDE.