Regulation (EU) 2019/788 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2019 on the European citizens' initiative (Text with EEA relevance.)

CHAPTER I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1

Subject matter

This Regulation establishes the procedures and conditions required for an initiative inviting the Commission, within the framework of its powers, to submit any appropriate proposal on matters where citizens of the Union consider that a legal act of the Union is required for the purpose of implementing the Treaties (the ‘European citizens' initiative’ or ‘initiative’).

Article 2

Right to support a European citizens' initiative

Member States may set the minimum age entitling to support an initiative at 16 years, in accordance with their national laws, and in such a case they shall inform the Commission accordingly.

Article 3

Required number of signatories

An initiative is valid if:

(a) it has received the support of at least one million citizens of the Union in accordance with Article 2(1) (‘signatories’) from at least one quarter of the Member States; and

(b) in at least one quarter of the Member States, the number of signatories is at least equal to the minimum number set out in Annex I, corresponding to the number of the Members of the European Parliament elected in each Member State, multiplied by the total number of Members of the European Parliament, at the time of registration of the initiative.

Article 4

Information and assistance by the Commission and by Member States

The Commission shall make a guide on the European citizens' initiative publicly available, both online and in paper form and in all the official languages of the institutions of the Union.

The platform shall provide practical and legal advice, and a discussion forum about the European citizens' initiative for the exchange of information and best practices among citizens, groups of organisers, stakeholders, non-governmental organisations, experts and other institutions and bodies of the Union wishing to participate.

The platform shall be accessible for persons with disabilities.

The costs of operating and maintaining the platform shall be borne by the general budget of the European Union.

The register shall comprise a public website that provides information on the European citizens' initiative in general as well as on specific initiatives and their respective status.

The Commission shall update the register on a regular basis by making the information submitted by the group of organisers available.

The group of organisers may, in addition, provide translations into all the official languages of the institutions of the Union of the additional information on the initiative and, if any, a draft legal act referred to in Annex II, submitted in accordance with Article 6(2). Those translations shall be the responsibility of the group of organisers. The content of the translations provided by the group of organisers shall correspond to the content of the initiative submitted in accordance with Article 6(2).

The Commission shall ensure the publication in the register and on the public website on the European citizens' initiative of the information submitted in accordance with Article 6(2) and the translations submitted in accordance with this paragraph.

CHAPTER II

PROCEDURAL PROVISIONS

Article 5

Group of organisers

For each initiative, the Commission shall publish the names of all members of the group of organisers in the register in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2018/1725.

The group of organisers may also designate a maximum of two other natural persons, chosen from among its members or otherwise, who are mandated to act on behalf of the contact persons for the purpose of liaising with the institutions of the Union throughout the procedure.

Without prejudice to the penalties under Article 84 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679, Member States shall ensure that the members of a group of organisers are, in accordance with national law, subject to effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties for infringements of this Regulation and in particular for:

(a) false declarations;

(b) the fraudulent use of data.

Article 6

Registration

When submitting the request the group of organisers shall also:

(a) transmit the information referred to in Annex II in one of the official languages of the institutions of the Union;

(b) indicate the seven members to be taken into account for the purpose of Article 5(1) and (2), where the group of organisers is made up of more than seven members;

(c) where relevant, indicate that a legal entity has been created pursuant to Article 5(7).

Without prejudice to paragraphs 5 and 6, the Commission shall decide on the request for registration within two months of its submission.

The Commission shall register the initiative if:

(a) the group of organisers has provided appropriate evidence that it fulfils the requirements laid down in Article 5(1) and (2) and has designated the contact persons in accordance with the first subparagraph of Article 5(3);

(b) in the situation referred to in Article 5(7), the legal entity has been created specifically for the purpose of managing the initiative and the member of the group of organisers designated as the representative thereof is mandated to act on behalf of the legal entity;

(c) none of the parts of the initiative manifestly falls outside the framework of the Commission's powers to submit a proposal for a legal act of the Union for the purpose of implementing the Treaties;

(d) the initiative is not manifestly abusive, frivolous or vexatious;

(e) the initiative is not manifestly contrary to the values of the Union as set out in Article 2 TEU and rights enshrined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.

For the purpose of determining if the requirements set out in points (a) to (e) of the first subparagraph of this paragraph are met, the Commission shall assess the information provided by the group of organisers in accordance with paragraph 2.

If one or more of the requirements set out in points (a) to (e) of the first subparagraph of this paragraph are not met, the Commission shall refuse to register the initiative, without prejudice to paragraphs 4 and 5.

In such case, the group of organisers may either amend the initiative to take into account the Commission's assessment to ensure that the initiative is in conformity with the requirement laid down in point (c) of the first subparagraph of paragraph 3, or maintain, or withdraw, the initial initiative. The group of organisers shall inform the Commission of its choice within two months of the receipt of the Commission's assessment giving the reasons thereof, and shall submit amendments, if any, to the initial initiative.

Where the group of organisers amends or maintains its initial initiative in accordance with the second subparagraph of this paragraph, the Commission shall:

(a) register the initiative, if it meets the requirement laid down in point (c) of the first subparagraph of paragraph 3;

(b) partially register the initiative, if part of the initiative, including its main objectives, does not manifestly fall outside the framework of the Commission's powers to submit a proposal for a legal act of the Union for the purpose of implementing the Treaties;

(c) otherwise, refuse to register the initiative.

The Commission shall decide on the request within one month of receipt of the information referred to in the second subparagraph of this paragraph from the group of organisers.

Where the Commission partially registers an initiative it shall publish information on the scope of the registration of the initiative in the register.

In such a case, the group of organisers shall ensure that potential signatories are informed of the scope of the registration of the initiative and of the fact that statements of support are collected only in relation to the scope of the registration.

The Commission shall make all decisions on requests for registration it adopts in accordance with this Article publicly available in the register and on the public website on the European citizens' initiative.

Article 7

Withdrawal of an initiative

At any time before submitting an initiative to the Commission in accordance with Article 13, the group of organisers may withdraw an initiative that has been registered in accordance with Article 6. Such withdrawal shall be published in the register.

Article 8

Collection period

The group of organisers shall inform the Commission of the date chosen at the latest 10 working days before that date.

Where, during the collection period, the group of organisers wishes to terminate the collection of statements of support before the end of the collection period, it shall inform the Commission of that intention at least 10 working days before the new date chosen for the end of the collection period.

The Commission shall inform the Member States of the date referred to in the first subparagraph.

Article 9

Procedure for the collection of statements of support

The group of organisers shall complete the forms set out in Annex III prior to initiating the collection of statements of support. The information given in the forms shall correspond to that contained in the register.

Where the group of organisers choses to collect statements of support online through the central online collection system provided for in Article 10, the Commission shall be responsible for providing the appropriate forms, in accordance with Annex III.

Where an initiative has been partially registered in accordance with Article 6(4), the forms set out in Annex III as well as the central online collection system and an individual online collection system, as applicable, shall reflect the scope of the registration of the initiative. The forms for the statement of support may be adapted for the purpose of the collection online or in paper form.

Annex III shall not apply where the citizens support an initiative online, through the central online collection system referred to in Article 10, using their notified electronic identification means within the meaning of Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 referred to in Article 10(4) of this Regulation. Citizens shall provide their nationality and Member States shall accept the minimum data set for a natural person in accordance with Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/1501 (¹).

By 1 January 2020, the Commission shall publish the forms set out in Annex III in the register.

A Member State included in one part of Annex III may make a request to the Commission to be transferred to the other part of Annex III. It shall make its request to the Commission at least six months before the date from which the new forms will be applicable.

Where the required number of statements of support has not been reached, or in the absence of a response from the group of organisers within three months of the end of the collection period, the Commission shall close the initiative and publish a notice to that effect in the register.

Article 10

Central online collection system

The costs of the setting up and operation of the central online collection system shall be borne by the general budget of the European Union. The use of the central online collection system shall be free of charge.

The central online collection system shall be accessible for persons with disabilities.

The data obtained through the central online collection system shall be stored in the servers made available by the Commission for that purpose.

The central online collection system shall allow for the uploading of statements of support collected in paper form.

Where a group of organisers wishes to upload the statements of support collected in paper form, it shall upload all statements of support collected in paper form not later than two months after the end of the collection period, and inform the Commission thereof.

Member States shall ensure that:

(a) citizens can support initiatives online through statements of support by using notified electronic identification means or by signing the statement of support with an electronic signature within the meaning of Regulation (EU) No 910/2014;

(b) the Commission e-IDAS node developed within the framework of Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 and Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/1501 is recognised.

Article 11

Individual online collection systems

The data collected through the individual online collection system shall be stored in the territory of a Member State.

Where an individual online collection system complies with the requirements laid down in paragraph 4 of this Article, the competent authority shall issue a certificate to that effect in accordance with the model set out in Annex IV within one month of the request. The group of organisers shall make a copy of that certificate publicly available on the website used for the individual online collection system.

Member States shall recognise the certificates issued by the competent authorities of other Member States.

Individual online collection systems shall have the adequate security and technical features to ensure throughout the collection period that:

(a) only natural persons are able to sign a statement of support;

(b) the information provided on the initiative corresponds to the information published in the register;

(c) data are collected from signatories in accordance with Annex III;

(d) the data provided by signatories are securely collected and stored.

The Commission may seek the advice of the European Union Agency for Network and Information Security (ENISA) in developing the technical specifications referred to in the first subparagraph.

Article 12

Verification and certification of statements of support by the Member States

The group of organisers shall submit the statements of support to the competent authorities only where the minimum numbers of signatories laid down in Article 3 have been reached.

Statements of support shall be submitted to each competent authority in the responsible Member State only once, using the form set out in Annex V.

Statements of support which have been collected online shall be submitted in accordance with an electronic schema made publicly available by the Commission.

Statements of support collected in paper form and those collected online through an individual online collection system shall be submitted separately.

Where a group of organisers has collected statements of support through an individual online collection system, it may request the Commission to submit these statements of support to the competent authority of the responsible Member State.

The Commission shall submit the statements of support in accordance with the second to fourth subparagraph of paragraph 2 of this Article, using the file exchange service referred to in Article 4(5).

Where statements of support collected online and in paper form are submitted separately, that period shall start running when the competent authority has received all statements of support.

For the purpose of the verification of statements of support collected in paper form, the authentication of signatures shall not be required.

The certificate shall specify the number of valid statements of support collected in paper form and online, including those collected in paper form and uploaded pursuant to the second subparagraph of Article 10(3).

Article 13

Submission to the Commission

Within three months of obtaining the last certificate provided for in Article 12(5), the group of organisers shall submit the initiative to the Commission.

The group of organisers shall submit the completed form set out in Annex VII, together with copies, in paper or electronic form, of the certificates referred to in Article 12(5).

The form set out in Annex VII shall be made publicly available by the Commission in the register.

Article 14

Publication and public hearing

The European Parliament shall organise the public hearing at its premises.

The Commission shall be represented in the hearing at an appropriate level.

The Council, other institutions and advisory bodies of the Union, the national parliaments and civil society shall be given the opportunity to attend the hearing.

The European Parliament shall ensure a balanced representation of relevant public and private interests.

Article 15

Examination by the Commission

Where the Commission intends to take action in response to the initiative, including, where appropriate, the adoption of one or more proposals for a legal act of the Union, the communication shall also set out the envisaged timeline for these actions.

The communication shall be notified to the group of organisers as well as to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions and shall be made public.

The Commission shall provide, in the register and on the public website on the European citizens' initiative, up-to-date information on the implementation of the actions set out in the communication adopted in response to the initiative.

Article 16

Follow-up to successful citizens' initiatives by the European Parliament

The European Parliament shall assess the measures taken by the Commission as a result of its communication referred to in Article 15(2).

CHAPTER III

OTHER PROVISIONS

Article 17

Transparency

The declared sources of funding and support, including the sponsors, and corresponding amounts shall be clearly identifiable.

The group of organisers shall also provide information on the organisations assisting it on a voluntary basis, where such support is not economically quantifiable.

That information shall be updated at least every two months during the period from the date of registration to the date on which the initiative is submitted to the Commission in accordance with Article 13. It shall be made publicly available by the Commission in a clear and accessible manner in the register and on the public website on the European citizens' initiative.

The Commission may request any additional information in relation to complaints received in accordance with this paragraph from the group of organisers, and, as appropriate, update the information on the declared sources of funding and support in the register.

Article 18

Communication

The European Parliament shall contribute to the communication activities of the Commission.

Potential signatories shall be informed that their right to support an initiative is not conditional on giving their consent to collecting their email address.

Article 19

Protection of personal data

Article 20

Competent authorities within the Member States

The Commission shall make the names and addresses of the authorities designated pursuant to paragraphs 1 and 2 publicly available in the register.

Article 21

Communication of national provisions

CHAPTER IV

DELEGATED ACTS AND IMPLEMENTING ACTS

Article 22

Committee procedure

Article 23

Delegated powers