A citizens’ initiative has to be proposed by a group of organisers.
Requirements
The group must meet the following 3 requirements:
- It must contain at least 7 people old enough to vote in elections to the European Parliament
(18 years old, except in Belgium, Malta and Austria where the voting age is 16, and Greece where it’s 17). - They must be living in at least 7 different EU countries. They must be EU nationals but don’t have to be nationals of 7 different EU countries. For example, the group could contain 3 Portuguese and 4 Lithuanian nationals, provided they’re living in 7 different EU countries.
- None of the minimum 7 can be Members of the European Parliament.
Contact persons
The group must nominate, from among its members, a representative and a substitute to speak and act on its behalf.
These will be the contact persons who will liaise between the group and the Commission throughout the procedure.
Legal form of the group
You can – but do not have to – create a legal entity to manage the initiative. This entity must be registered in an EU country and be based on the relevant national law.
If you create a legal entity, your representative must be authorised to act on its behalf.
More information
