Meer documentenCommission registers two European Citizens' Initiatives on education and housing
Today, the European Commission registered two European Citizens' Initiatives (ECIs) entitled: ‘All On Board - For your right to citizenship without borders' and ‘Right to Housing! Now and Forever'.
The initiative ‘All On Board - For your right to citizenship without borders' calls for ‘an all-of-society approach for a democratic Europe, resting on education and universal suffrage'. Its organisers consider that EU citizens should have the right to: ‘Learn about European rights, values and participation in the EU', ‘Experience participation in a European exchange program' and ‘Have their results recognised and validated back home and across the EU through academic, technical, vocational and transversal qualifications treated equally'.
The initiative ‘Right to Housing! Now and Forever' calls for ‘access to housing that is affordable, sustainable and fair'. Its organisers propose the introduction of measures to regulate ‘short-term rentals and vacancy'. They call for the conversion of ‘empty buildings, like vacant homes and offices, into housing', the setting of ‘enforceable standards to keep housing affordable and sustainable' and the establishment of an ‘EU Housing Agency'.
As these initiatives fulfil the formal conditions established in the relevant legislation, the Commission considers them legally admissible under the European Citizens' Initiative Regulation. At this stage, the Commission only checked whether the initiative meets the legal conditions for registration. The registration does not influence the Commission's final decision on their merits, or any potential action it may take. The Commission will take a decision on an initiative only if it collects at least one million signatures from EU citizens.
Next steps
Following the registration of the two initiatives, the organisers have six months to open the 12-month period of signature collection. If an ECI receives at least one million statements of support during that time, with minimum numbers reached in at least seven Member States, the Commission is required to react and decide what action, if any, it will take in response to the initiative, justifying its decision.
Background
The ECI was introduced with the Lisbon Treaty as an agenda-setting tool for citizens. It was officially launched in April 2012. Once formally registered, a European Citizens' Initiative allows one million citizens from at least seven EU Member States to invite the European Commission to propose legal acts in areas where it has the power to act. The conditions for admissibility are: (1) the proposed action does not manifestly fall outside the framework of the Commission's powers to submit a legal proposal, (2) it is not manifestly abusive, frivolous or vexatious and (3) it is not manifestly contrary to the values of the Union as set out in Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union and rights enshrined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.
Since the launch of the European Citizens' Initiative, the Commission has registered 134 initiatives.
The content of initiatives only expresses the views of their organisers and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the Commission.
For more information
‘All On Board - For your right to citizenship without borders'
‘Right to Housing! Now and Forever'
ECIs currently collecting signatures
