The Austrian Presidency of the EU Council will defend a modified position on the reform of the European Citizens' Initiative (ECI) when it negotiates with representatives of the European Parliament on Thursday 29 November in a potentially conclusive trilogue meeting.
According to this renewed mandate endorsed the day before by the Member States' ambassadors to the EU (Coreper), the minimum age for participation in an ECI will be the same as the legal voting age in a Member State. A country wishing to lower the minimum age for participation in a citizens' initiative to 16 years may do so by informing the Commission.
Individual support collection systems may be maintained until at least 31 December 2021, depending on the Member State. This is a response to a specific request from ECI organisers (see EUROPE 12124).
In addition, the start date for the collection of signatures could be set up to 6 months after the registration of the ECI.
Brexit. On Wednesday, the European Commission refused to register a European Citizens' Initiative calling for a European referendum on whether or not the United Kingdom should remain in the EU.
The conditions for registering this initiative are "not met, because the issue does not fall within the EU's field of competence", it argued. Although it regrets the United Kingdom's decision to leave the Union, the Commission respects the outcome of the referendum.
In two years, the Commission has registered four initiatives related to Brexit: - the granting of permanent EU citizenship; - the maintenance of European citizenship; - ‘EU citizenship for Europeans: united in diversity in spite of jus soli and jus sanguinis', and - the creation of a European free movement instrument (see EUROPE 11751).
Two other initiatives related to Brexit were declared inadmissible: “Stop Brexit" and “British friends-stay with us in EU". (Original version in French by Mathieu Solal with Lionel Changeur and Mathieu Bion)