13/03/2019 (Agence Europe) – On Tuesday 12 March, the European Parliament set in stone the Interinstitutional Agreement on the draft regulation on the registration and conduct of a European Citizens' Initiative (ECI), which allows EU citizens to ask the Commission to act in an area of European competence (see EUROPE 12159/20). Member States will be able to lower the legal age for participation in an ECI to 16 years. By 2020, the European Commission will have to set up a centralised system for collecting support for an initiative. Other digital or physical tools, such as contact points in the Member States, will be created to facilitate participation in an ECI. To be officially registered, a citizens' initiative requires the support of one million citizens from at least a quarter of the Member States. (MB)