This petition is to request a fair investigation into an alleged case of abuse of power in a European call for projects dedicated to sustainable innovation.

From 2019 to 2021, I developed a pioneering project designed to breathe new life into communities by promoting cultural and urban regeneration.

This idea was a highly recognized initiative, endorsed by major players like Startup Europe, which is an initiative created by the European Commission to identify and support projects with the highest potential to contribute to European priority goals like LIFE and the European Bauhaus. The importance and potential for change were also acknowledged by the Italian Alliance for Sustainable Development (ASviS), an organization bringing together more than 300 institutions to promote global change, which selected the project as one of the top-14 national projects submitted to their Innovability School in 2021.

Furthermore, the project was also recognized among the top-9 international projects by the CLIC Startup Competition, a Horizon-2020 project featuring judges like the Italian National Research Council (CNR), OECD, EIF, EASME, COSME, EEN, FacilityLive, and Trans Europe Halles.

All this potential for innovation was eventually, I argue, undermined by an act of abuse of power by the EACEA. In 2021, I submitted the project to the call for ideas "Creative Innovation Lab" managed by Creative Europe. I submitted a comprehensive, 70-page proposal, as the project perfectly met all the stated criteria, especially the crucial requirement for cross-sectoral cooperation, including the audiovisual sector.

The project, despite being praised by reviewers for its strong methodology and innovative potential, was dismissed due to what I contest to be a case of abuse of power—that is, the act of EU officials denying my redress request through inadequate reasons and a selective reading of the text. This act is defined as power abuse by European guidelines on Complaints About Proposal Rejection available at the following link: https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/funding-tenders-opportunities/display/OM/Complaints+about+proposal+rejection

I reported the problem to the European Ombudsman, which is an organization created exactly with the aim to investigate cases of abuse of power by EU institutions and agencies. The Ombudsman eventually chose not to open an investigation without a clear reason.

This is a waste of our time. While Europe puts pressure on the younger generation to solve the problems of the world, our efforts can be undermined by acts of power abuse that remain unaddressed, breaking our innovation ecosystem and potentially damaging promising projects that could make an impact on the world. Meanwhile, perpetrators remain untouched, eventually risking promoting an environment characterized by unaccountability.

This not only affects the effort of single individuals but also has direct implications for our possibility to reach our sustainable goals. Did you know that the United Nations (UN) has stated that we'll be able to reach only 17% of planned targets by 2030? This is not really a surprise if innovative ideas promoted by initiatives like the Italian Alliance for Sustainable Development eventually find their end in acts of power abuse by officials and reviewers.

Therefore, to reach our sustainable goals, we need to keep our institutions and governments accountable. Otherwise, our efforts may be wasted at any time.

Fight with me to ensure our right to a better future is respected by institutions. Sign this petition to request that Europe investigate this alleged case of power abuse and ensure it is done in a fair way, to make sure that citizens and sustainable innovation are protected from acts of abuse of power by a few individuals.

By supporting me, you're not just helping one project; you're helping send a message that bureaucratic failings and abuses of power cannot go unchecked when our collective future, particularly in critical areas like sustainability and youth empowerment, is at stake.

You can also watch a full video with the report of my investigation here:

 

 

My full report is also available in text format on the open repository Zenodo, titled "Evidence of Abuse of Power During a Complaint Process Related to a EU Call for Projects": https://zenodo.org/records/17225804

Thank you for supporting this important cause.

With gratitude,

Luca Danieli