Following a single interinstitutional meeting, the European Parliament and the EU Council reached an agreement in the late afternoon of Thursday 25 June to extend by 6 months the deadlines applicable to the collection and examination phases of European Citizens’ Initiatives (ECIs) in progress on 11 March 2020, due to Covid-19 (see EUROPE 12491/19).
The Parliament amendments to lower the threshold for activating this extension were agreed. From now on, to activate the extension, a quarter of the Member States (as opposed to 35% in the European Commission's proposal) representing more than 35% of the EU population that has implemented measures that hamper local campaigns to gather support will be needed.
The agreement also gives ECI organisers the possibility to participate in hearings and meetings at a distance.
It remains for the Member States’ ambassadors to validate the provisional agreement after its adoption in Parliament's Committee on Constitutional Affairs and then at the July plenary session of Parliament. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)