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The European citizens’ initiative ‘Cohesion policy for the equality of the regions and sustainability of the regional cultures’ obtained 1,269,351 validated statements of support from EU citizens and reached minimum numbers in 8 countries. The initiative was submitted to the European Commission on 4 March 2025, making it the 11th valid initiative to be examined by the Commission. 

The initiative calls for the cohesion policy of the Union to pay special attention to regions with characteristics that are different from those of the surrounding regions.

The Commission has until 4 September 2025 to present its official reply, outlining the actions it intends to take, if any. The Commission will meet the organisers to discuss the initiative in detail in the coming weeks. A public hearing will then be organised by the European Parliament.

In this 1-hour webinar, hosted by the ECI Forum, participants can learn about the different campaigning structures for ECIs, from centralised teams to coalition-based approaches. Join the experts and organisers of ongoing ECIs to learn how to optimise your initiative’s results.

Tuesday, 25 February 2025, 12.30 - 1.30 p.m.

Webinar held in English.

The European Citizens’ Initiative Forum has been restructured to better meet the needs of ECI organisers at all the steps of the process - from preparing their initiative for registration up to the verification and examination phases. The improved version of the ECI Forum facilitates users’ access to thematic guidance, success stories and expert advice. Check it out!

On 21 January the Commission registered a European citizens' initiative entitled ‘HouseEurope! Power to Renovation’. 

It calls on the Commission to propose legislation that creates incentives to renovate and transform existing buildings. 

The initiative organisers have six months to open the signature collection.  

The European Commission is actively following up to the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) 'Stop finning – Stop the trade,' which asked the Commission for action to end international trade of loose shark fins. 

From January 2025, the Commission will step up monitoring of shark product trade thanks to 13 new tariff codes for sharks and their fins. These codes will enable the tracking of the most traded shark species.

The Commission has also completed the consultation stage of its impact assessment on a trade ban on detached fins and a range of alternative policy measures, conducted in response to the ECI. Find out more on the EU sharks’ protection and management page.

Danish citizens can now use their eID (‘MitID’) to support European citizens' initiatives online. Denmark is the 19th EU country enabling the use of a national eID system for signing European citizens' initiatives. Check the status for all EU countries. 

Since the Commission replied to the ‘Fur Free Europe’ initiative in December 2023, it has been working on several accompanying actions. On-site visits to fur farms to explore the ‘One Health’ controls in place happened in Finland and more recently in Poland and Spain. A Survey on fur animals was addressed to Member States authorities, to help collect factual information and data that will feed into a Commission assessment of actions mentioned in the Communication. The Commission has also been preparing a revision of the Textile Labelling Regulation, including a stakeholders’ workshop that took place in October.  

On 17 September, the European Commission published a call for evidence on animal testing in chemical safety assessments and Commission roadmap to phase it out.

The development of such roadmap is one of the commitments made by the European Commission in response to the European citizens’ initiative ‘Save Cruelty-Free Cosmetics – Commit to a Europe without animal testing’. The roadmap should include milestones and specific actions to further reduce animal testing and ultimately transition to an animal-free regulatory system under relevant pieces of chemical legislation.

The call for evidence aims to seek expertise on non-animal testing in chemical safety assessments and particularly submissions that synthesise the current state of knowledge in relevant fields. In addition, outreach to stakeholders continues through a series of workshops (in December 2023, October 2024 and May 2025).

On 11 September the European Commission decided to register two European citizens' initiatives.

The aims of the ‘ECI for a Water-Smart and Resilient Europe' initiative include: an action plan for water; elevating water resilience to the same priority as decarbonisation; shifting towards water-efficient industry and agriculture; ensuring the right skills for a water-smart economy and the right to clean and safe water and sanitation.

The organisers of the ‘PsychedeliCare' initiative call on the Commission to support expert consensus on psychedelic care standards and the rollout of psychedelic therapies. The initiative also urges the Commission to boost research into the therapeutic applications of psychedelics and the development of research networks.

These initiatives are the tenth and eleventh initiatives registered in 2024. The organisers now have six months to open the signature collection. 

On 24 July the European Commission decided to register two European citizens' initiatives.

The ‘Stop Cruelty Stop Slaughter’ initiative calls for incentives for producing plant proteins, including plant-based milk and egg substitutes, as well as cultivated meat. The organisers also call for reducing the number of farm animals and progressively closing all animal farms.

The ‘Stop Fake Food: Origin on Label’ initiative calls for measures that ensure European consumers’ access to transparent information about the food they buy, as well as clear and explicit labelling of the origin for all products and for adherence to environmental, health and labour standards in the internal market.

These initiatives are the eighth and ninth registered in 2024. The organisers have now six months to open the signature collection.