Brussels, 09/12/2015 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission agreed on Wednesday 9 December on the registration of two new European citizens' initiatives (ECIs) that fall within the area of justice and home affairs, it announced in a press release.
The two proposed initiatives have been accepted by the Commission because they meet the conditions required and not because of their content. The first concerns the meaning of marriage and the second the right of asylum in the EU. The ECI “Mum, Dad and Kids”, calls for a horizontally applicable EU regulation that defines the meaning of marriage, for the purpose of the application of EU legislation. The other, “European Asylum Initiative”, calls for reform of the European asylum system including a permanent, transparent and fair mechanism allocating asylum seekers among member states, increased resettlement quotas, allowing asylum seekers to apply from outside the EU, and strengthening of the European asylum support office (EASO).
The first of the two initiatives will be officially registered on 15 December and the second on 4 January. For the Commission to consider a proposal for an ECI, it has to gather at least one million signatures from seven or more member states within one year. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)