#EuropeanCitizensInitiative - Kommissie registreer drie nuwe inisiatiewe en bepaal een as ontoelaatbaar

At this stage in the process, the Commission has not analyzed the substance of the initiatives, but only their legal admissibility. Should any of the three registered initiatives receive 1 million statements of support from at least seven member states within one year, the Commission will analyze and respond to the initiative. The Commission can decide either to follow the request or not, and in both instances would be required to explain its reasoning.

1. 'A price for carbon to fight climate change'

The organisers of the initiative call on the Commission 'to propose EU legislation to discourage the consumption of fossil fuels, encourage energy saving and the use of renewable sources for fighting global warming and limiting temperature increase to 1.5°C'. The objective of the initiative is to introduce a minimum price on CO2 emissions, abolish the existing system of free allowances to EU polluters and introduce a border adjustment mechanism, while allocating the revenue from carbon pricing 'to European policies that support energy saving and the use of renewable sources, and to the reduction of taxation on lower incomes'.

Under the EU Treaties, the European Commission can take legal action in the areas of climate action, the environment, taxation and common commercial policy. The Commission therefore considers the initiative legally admissible and has decided to register it. The registration of this initiative will take place on 22 July 2019, starting a one-year process of collection of signatures of support by its organizers.

2. 'Grow scientific progress: crops matter!'

The organizers of the initiative state that Directive 2001/18/EC on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) is ‘outdated' and ask for a revision of its rules concerning new plant breeding techniques (NPBT), with the objective of facilitating 'the authorisation procedure for those products obtained through NPBTs'.

advertensie

Under the EU Treaties, the European Commission can take legal action in the area of the internal market and product authorisations. The Commission therefore considers the initiative legally admissible and has decided to register it. The registration of this initiative will take place on 25 July 2019, starting a 1-year process of collection of signatures of support by its organisers.

3. 'Let's put an end to the era of plastic in Europe'

The organisers of this initiative 'call on the European Commission to revise the Directive on the impact of certain plastics on the environment with the aim of banning all single-use plastics in Europe'. The initiative aims to ban 'all plastic packaging and bottles by 2027 so that concrete measures can begin to be put in place to respect the limits of our resources.'

Under the EU Treaties, the European Commission can take legal action with an aim of preserving, protecting and improving the quality of the environment. The Commission therefore considers the initiative legally admissible and has decided to register it. The registration of this initiative will take place on 26 July 2019, starting a one-year process of collection of signatures of support by its organisers.

4. 'EU law, minority rights and democratisation of Spanish institutions'

Referring to events in the context of the movement for independence in Catalonia, the organisers of this initiative aim to ensure that 'both the Commission and the Parliament are fully aware of the current situation in Spain […] and the need to set mechanisms in motion to help improve democratic standards in Spain, thereby guaranteeing the rights and freedoms of minority groups and of all Spanish citizens by means of EU law and instruments.'

More specifically, the initiative invites the Commission to examine the situation in Spain and take possible steps in the context of the Commission's 2014 Communication ‘A new Framework to strengthen the Rule of Law'. Under that framework, the Commission can enter into a dialogue with a Member State to prevent the emerging of a systemic threat to the rule of law. However, the initiative does not invite the Commission to submit a proposal for a legal act, which is the sole purpose of European Citizens' Initiatives.

The Commission has therefore concluded that the initiative manifestly falls outside the Commission's powers to propose a legal act for implementing the EU Treaties, and is therefore inadmissible.

agtergrond

Europese burgerinisiatiewe is met die Lissabon-verdrag ingestel en in April 2012 van stapel gestuur, met die inwerkingtreding van die Europese burgerinisiatief-regulasie, wat die Verdragsbepalings implementeer. In 2017, as deel van president Juncker se toespraak oor die staat van die Unie, het die Europese Kommissie ter tafel gelê hervormingsvoorstelle vir die Europese burgerinisiatief om dit nog meer gebruikersvriendelik te maak. In Desember 2018, het die Europese Parlement en die Raad ooreengekom oor die hervorming en die hersiene reëls sal vanaf 1 Januarie 2020 begin geld.

In the meantime, the process has been simplified and a collaborative platform offers support to organisers. All this has contributed to 30% more registered citizens' initiatives (38 registrations under the Juncker Commission compared to 29 under the previous Commission) and 80% fewer refusals (only 5 citizens' initiatives were not registered under this Commission compared to 20 under the previous Commission).

Once formally registered, a European citizens' initiative allows 1 million citizens from at least 7 of the member states to invite the European Commission to propose a legal act in areas where the Commission has the power to do so.

Die voorwaardes vir toelaatbaarheid is dat die voorgestelde aksie nie klaarblyklik buite die raamwerk val van die Kommissie se bevoegdhede om 'n voorstel vir 'n regshandeling in te dien nie, dat dit nie klaarblyklik beledigend, ligsinnig of ergerlik is nie en dat dit nie klaarblyklik strydig is met die waardes van die Unie.

Meer inligting

Full text of the proposed European Citizens' Initiatives:

• A price for carbon to fight climate change (available as of 22 July 2019) http://stopglobalwarming.eu/
• Grow scientific progress: crops matter! (available as of 25 July 2019) www.growscientificprogress.org 
• Let's put an end to the era of plastic in Europe (available as of 26 July 2019)
• EU law, minority rights and democratisation of Spanish institutions

ECI's wat tans handtekeninge versamel

ECI webwerf

ECI Regulasie