The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) will hold a debate on the successful European citizens' initiative "My Voice, My Choice: For Safe And Accessible Abortion" in its plenary session on Wednesday 21 January 2026. The debate is linked to the adoption of the EESC opinion on this initiative.
Webstreaming is available.
On 5 January, the European Commission registered a European citizens' initiative entitled ‘Ethics, Transparency and Integrity for European Political Parties’.
The initiative invites the Commission ‘to devise a European model of ethical governance based on transparency, integrity and shared responsibility’. The initiative organisers have six months to open the signature collection.
This is the first initiative registered in 2026, and 125th since 2012.
In line with Article 15 of the ECI Regulation, the organisers of 'Ban on conversion practices in the European Union' were given the opportunity to explain the objectives of their initiative in detail. They were received on 12 December 2025 by Commissioner for Equality Hadja Lahbib and European Commission officials.
On 3 December 2025 the European Commission registered a European citizens' initiative entitled 'No more double standards on human rights'.
It calls for establishing a standardised oversight of human rights across the Commission's areas of competence in its external action with third countries’.
The initiative organisers have six months to open the signature collection.
On 2 December, the European Parliament will hold a public hearing on the twelfth successful European Citizens’ Initiative 'My Voice, My Choice: For Safe And Accessible Abortion'. The organisers have been invited to present the initiative's objectives and engage with Members of the European Parliament. Hadja Lahbib, the Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management, will represent the European Commission in this hearing.
On 16 December, Members of the European Parliament will debate the initiative during the plenary session, with the participation of the European Commission. The debate will be followed by a vote on the motions for resolution on this initiative on 17 December.
Both meetings are web streamed and recorded.
On 25 November 2025 the Commission registered two European citizens' initiatives:
The initiative organisers have six months to open the signature collection.
On 17 November 2025, the European citizens' initiative ‘Ban on conversion practices in the European Union' was submitted to the European Commission, making it the 13th successful initiative that will be examined by the Commission.
The initiative has gathered 1,128,063 verified statements of support from EU citizens, surpassing the required minimum of one million valid statements of support, and reached thresholds in 11 Member States.
The organisers of the initiative call on the Commission to propose a binding legal ban on conversion practices targeting LGBTQ+ citizens in the European Union.
The Commission has until 18 May 2026 to present its official reply, outlining the actions it intends to take, if any. See what happens in the meantime: Step-by-Step.
At this year’s Public Affairs Summit in Brussels, the workshop “Empowering Citizens: Enhancing Engagement for a Resilient EU Future” will look at how citizens can play a stronger role in shaping EU decisions, including with the European citizens’ initiative. Speakers include David Knight, Policy Assistant in Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič’s team and Elisa Lironi, Deputy Executive Director at ECAS.
Thursday 6 November 2025, 12:00 (CET)
In line with Article 15 of the ECI Regulation, the organisers of the twelfth successful European citizens’ initiative ‘My Voice, My Choice: For Safe And Accessible Abortion' were given the opportunity to explain the objectives of their initiative in detail. They were received on 1 October 2025 by Commissioner for Equality Hadja Lahbib and European Commission officials.
On 29 September, the Commission had to refuse the registration of the ‘Ethical selection of European representatives’ initiative. The initiative did not fulfil the formal conditions established in the ECI Regulation.
This is the second refusal since the new ECI Regulation started applying in January 2020.
