On Friday 5 August, the European Commission opened a public consultation on a proposed legislative initiative on the cross-border activities of associations.
The aim, says the EU institution, is to guarantee associations the freedoms conferred by the single market, by simplifying their transnational activities. “The current rules create obstacles, such as additional registrations, when associations carry out cross-border activities within the EU”, explains the European Commission.
Currently, 27 different national regulations apply to European non-profit organisations (NPOs), which poses many difficulties for their activities, especially in receiving capital. As a result, the institution believes that there is a risk of distorting the market for non-profit organisations, “which is detrimental to the EU’s democratic space and the exercise of the EU’s fundamental rights”.
The deadline for the consultation is 28 October. The Commission intends to present its proposal in the second quarter of 2023. This proposal follows the own-initiative legislative resolution adopted by the European Parliament on 17 February 2022, which called for the creation of a European Statute of Association (see EUROPE 12893/13).
The resolution included two requests for legislative proposals: a regulation establishing the legal form of a “European association” and a directive on common minimum standards for European non-profit organisations.
To access the public consultation: https://aeur.eu/f/2rr (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)