European Citizens' Initiative to "Stop Destroying Videogames" is missing ridiculously low thresholds.

https://citizens-initiative.europa.eu/initiatives/details/2024/000007_en

Country Statements of support Threshold Percentage Signatures required
Austria 10162 13395 75.86% 3233
Belgium 13911 14805 93.96% 894
Bulgaria 4597 11985 38.36% 7388
Croatia 4163 8460 49.21% 4297
Cyprus 565 4230 13.36% 3665
Czechia 7421 14805 50.12% 7384
Denmark 12032 9870 121.90% 0
Estonia 3035 4935 61.50% 1900
Finland 15319 9870 155.21% 0
France 49153 55695 88.25% 6542
Germany 98063 67680 144.89% 0
Greece 5018 14805 33.89% 9787
Hungary 9902 14805 66.88% 4903
Ireland 10353 9165 112.96% 0
Italy 24712 53580 46.12% 28868
Latvia 2679 5640 47.50% 2961
Lithuania 5123 7755 66.06% 2632
Luxembourg 946 4230 22.36% 3284
Malta 533 4230 12.60% 3697
Netherlands 26374 20445 129.00% 0
Poland 53599 36660 146.21% 0
Portugal 8402 14805 56.75% 6403
Romania 12377 23265 53.20% 10888
Slovakia 4987 9870 50.53% 4883
Slovenia 2473 5640 43.85% 3167
Spain 36391 41595 87.49% 5204
Sweden 19849 14805 134.07% 0

Just under 3000-4000 people are required per country in Lithuania, Latvia, Malta and Luxembourg. Come on now... that's a small town and in some places even just a village. Are there really that few gamers in those countries?

212 points · 36 comments · view on lemmy.world

36 Comments

barsoap@lemm.ee · 43 pts · 1y (13 replies)

Those thresholds are irrelevant because they've been crossed in seven countries already, the important bit is getting another 560k votes from anywhere (in the EU).

The actual hurdle is those 1m votes, any initiative that is not completely lopsided will take the per-country hurdles with ease, as you can tell by this initiative having achieved that while not yet having half of the votes it needs. In fact taking all the thresholds together you wouldn't reach 1m votes but ~0.5m, that is by design.

That's not to say that it'd be a bad idea to do pushes in certain countries, particularly large ones which are less hooked into English media than the usual suspects. By population: France, Italy, Spain, Romania, Belgium is covered by Netherlands+France, Czechia, Portugal, Greece, that's all >=10m member states lagging behind. No point in going after Sweden or the Netherlands people there are already in the loop, and Poland seems to have rallied itself.

atro_city@fedia.io · -34 pts · 1y (12 replies)

Yeah, nevermind then. Let's do nothing. Might as well just twiddle our thumbs and hope the large countries find another 500k people to sign the initiative. The small countries can be ignored 🤷‍♂

huppakee@lemm.ee · 35 pts · 1y (11 replies)

You're being helped with info on where you can get the biggest return on your efforts, not being told to do nothing. Your reply is kind of rude if you ask me.

atro_city@fedia.io · -15 pts · 1y (10 replies)
  • hey, we need a final push for these countries
  • nah, shut up, they are irrelevant, concentrate on these instead
  • *sarcastic response*
  • the person telling you to shut up is being helpful, your sarcasm is rude

OK.

huppakee@lemm.ee · 10 pts · 1y (9 replies)

Theyre not telling you to shut up, they're telling you the required treshold is reached and explaining to you there is no point in giving these countries 'a final push' so go home and actually read that comment.

atro_city@fedia.io · -7 pts · 1y (8 replies)

They are dismissing the value of getting more of those small countries on board. Getting them past the threshold could also have an effect on the gamers in those countries. Who knows what kinds of people may have been untapped. Discarding them as irrelevant is counter-productive.

"Shut up, let the big boys do the lifting". It's the same attitudes that are pervasive throughout the union. The voices of those small countries are important. The line of thinking that small countries don't matter fits very well with the "I'm just one person, so if I don't vote, nobody will care". We should be encouraging our brethren from smaller countries to be part of the democratic process instead of just excluding them. The Union wouldn't listen to the Eastern States after Crimea's invasion in 2014 and shrugged them off during the renewed invasion.

Imagine if we said the same thing about queers. "Nah, we don't need their votes, they're irrelevant, let's focus on the hets".

So yes, the implication of irrelevance bothers me because it's deeper than just this issue.

Maalus@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 1y (1 reply)

You are annoying and stubborn.

huppakee@lemm.ee · 2 pts · 1y

ikr

huppakee@lemm.ee · 2 pts · 1y (5 replies)

It isn't the votes that are irrelevant, it's the treshold. Just please read the explanation why that is, to me it sounds like you only read the first 4 or 5 words of that comment.

atro_city@fedia.io · -3 pts · 1y

I don't think you're reading my comment in its entirety.

So yes, the implication of irrelevance bothers me because it's deeper than just this issue.

This is the important bit.

lime@feddit.nu · 33 pts · 1y (3 replies)

seven countries and one million total votes. it's not even close on the second one, needs like 550k more.

atro_city@fedia.io · 8 pts · 1y (2 replies)

Sure, but look at what's going on in Lithuania. They can't get 2k people to sign the petition? Wth? Are there no Lithuanian gamers?

Skua@kbin.earth · 17 pts · 1y

I wonder if it's a language issue? Lithuanian is only really spoken in Lithuania, which is quite a small country, and most Lithuanians also don't speak another EU language (the most common second language by a wide margin is Russian). It might be that nobody has made a successful effort to publicise the campaign in a language that most Lithuanians know. The disclaimer here is that I don't speak Lithuanian and cannot check

Microw@lemm.ee · 5 pts · 1y

Because every EU country has its own media and public discourse spaces, and no European Initiative ever manages to get attention in all member states. They usually focus on those member states where they have contacts and multipliers who can spread it

lurch@sh.itjust.works · 20 pts · 1y

that's a small town

Luxembourg is kind of a small town tho 🤣

Okay, I'll see myself out 😬

DmMacniel@feddit.org · 18 pts · 1y (4 replies)

too few gamers that care or know about this.

Voyajer@lemmy.world · 13 pts · 1y (1 reply)

Or have fallen for misinfo about it

atro_city@fedia.io · 17 pts · 1y

Pirate Software - that cunt

drmoodmood@lemmy.ml · 1 pts · 1y (1 reply)

Honestly. Is it also that hard to believe that there might also be people out there who just don't agree with this whole initiative?

DmMacniel@feddit.org · 2 pts · 1y

I cannot fathom why someone wouldnt agree with it. Unless you are a publisher.

axh@lemmy.world · 16 pts · 1y

For Luxembourg almost 80% are missing. Let's try to motivate bigger countries that are close to the threshold.

Looking at you France and Spain, just a little more! Belgium, you are doing great, just a 1000 more please.

MrScottyTay@sh.itjust.works · 13 pts · 1y (1 reply)

Think about how many people you know on your life that are gamers. Then also think about the gamers that are in the know about shit like this. It'll be pretty slim unless you're terminally online.

atro_city@fedia.io · 3 pts · 1y

All my gamer friends know about this, because I told them. I've told them and I know at least 3 of them that signed.

dwindling7373@feddit.it · 11 pts · 1y (3 replies)

My good Sir do you know what is Malta?

njm1314@lemmy.world · -5 pts · 1y (2 replies)

Apparently an island of useless chuds who can't sign a petition.

bjoern_tantau@swg-empire.de · 2 pts · 1y (1 reply)

And they ruined my friend's stomach! He could eat a lot before his vacation there.

dwindling7373@feddit.it · 2 pts · 1y

That's a common issue with italian people travelling there since "malta" is a somewhat edible construction material.

brot@feddit.org · 6 pts · 1y (2 replies)

How does it work? Does every country need to pass the threshold? Only a certain amount of countries?

Voyajer@lemmy.world · 14 pts · 1y (1 reply)

7 countries and 1 million total signatures

brot@feddit.org · 6 pts · 1y

Thank you!

CBYX@feddit.org · 3 pts · 1y (1 reply)

Another one to sign while you're at it:

eci.ec.europa.eu/043/public/#/screen/home

atro_city@fedia.io · 2 pts · 1y

Signed