Citizens demand stricter rules for European parties, the Commission opens the procedure
The European Commission has registered a European Citizens' Initiative calling for stricter rules regarding the ethics, transparency, and integrity of European political parties, thus triggering the official procedure for collecting signatures, but without currently assuming a legislative commitment.
In short
The initiative targets ethics, conflicts of interest, and the funding of European parties
The Commission has declared the initiative legally admissible
Registration does not mean political support
One million signatures are needed from at least seven member states
Only after reaching the threshold will the Commission decide whether to propose legislation
The initiative, titled "Ethics, Transparency and Integrity for European Political Parties", requests the European Commission to develop a European model of ethical governance and to propose amendments and enhancements to the EU Regulation on European political parties and political foundations. The organizers are calling for stricter requirements in areas such as conflicts of interest, transparency in the decision-making process, unethical conduct, and funding.
The Commission decided to register the initiative after finding that it meets the formal conditions set by EU legislation regarding the European Citizens' Initiative. The community executive emphasizes, however, that at this stage, it has not analyzed the content of the proposals and that the registration does not influence any future decision regarding legislative actions.
Politically, the initiative reflects an increasingly visible civic pressure on how European parties operate, in a context marked by debates on democratic integrity, political funding, and public trust in EU institutions. At the same time, the Commission's reaction remains strictly procedural, clearly delineating between its role as guardian of the treaties and that of a political actor.
The next step falls to the organizers of the initiative, who have six months to open the signature collection period. This will last 12 months, during which at least one million supports must be gathered from a minimum of seven member states. Only upon reaching this threshold will the Commission be obliged to respond officially and explain what actions it intends to undertake or why it decides not to propose legislation.
The European Citizens' Initiative is a tool of participatory democracy introduced by the Lisbon Treaty, which allows EU citizens to request the Commission to propose legislative initiatives in areas within its competence. Since the launch of the mechanism in 2012, the Commission has registered 125 initiatives, but only a small portion of these have led to concrete legislative actions.
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