This week, the European Commission has officially registered a European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) entitled “Ethics, Transparency and Integrity for European Political Parties”.

The initiative calls on the Commission to develop a European model of ethical governance for political parties, based on transparency, integrity, and shared responsibility. Specifically, the organisers request the Commission to propose a legislative act amending the EU Regulation on European political parties and European political foundations, introducing stricter rules on conflicts of interest, decision-making processes, funding, transparency, and conduct.

As the initiative meets the formal legal requirements under the European Citizens’ Initiative Regulation, the Commission has deemed it legally admissible. At this stage, the Commission has not assessed the substance of the proposals. Registration does not indicate any position or decision on the merits of the initiative. The Commission will only take action if the initiative collects at least one million signatures from EU citizens.

Next steps

Following registration, the organisers have six months to launch a 12-month signature collection period. If the initiative gathers the required support—at least one million statements from citizens in a minimum of seven EU Member States—the Commission is obliged to examine it and decide what, if any, action to take, providing a justification for its decision.

Background

The European Citizens’ Initiative was introduced by the Lisbon Treaty as a tool for citizens to set the agenda for EU policy. Officially launched in April 2012, the ECI allows one million citizens from at least seven Member States to invite the Commission to propose legal acts in areas within its competence. Admissible initiatives must not fall outside the Commission’s powers, be manifestly abusive or frivolous, or contradict EU values.

Since its introduction, the Commission has registered 125 initiatives. The content of each initiative reflects the views of its organisers and does not represent the position of the European Commission.