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Today the European Commission decided to register 4 new European Citizens' Initiatives: 'The fast, fair and effective solution to climate change', 'Ending the aviation fuel tax exemption in Europe', 'Cohesion policy for the equality of the regions and sustainability of the regional cultures' and 'PRO-NUTRISCORE'.

At the same time, the Commission decided it cannot register a European Citizens' Initiative entitled 'Stopping trade with Israeli settlements operating in the Occupied Palestinian Territory'. The initiative is legally inadmissible as it manifestly falls outside the Commission's powers to act according to the EU Treaties.

Respect for the rule of law within the European Union.

The aim of the initiative is to create ‘an objective and impartial evaluation mechanism to verify the application of the European Union's values by all the Member States'. More specifically, the organisers call on the Commission to ‘provide the European Union with general legislation […] to verify the practical application of national provisions relating to the rule of law'. In addition, the organisers aim to ‘facilitate the enforcement of European laws on judicial cooperation in criminal matters (e.g. the European Arrest Warrant)' and strengthen the role of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights.

The decision to register the ‘Respect for the rule of law' initiative coincides with the launch of a reflection process by the European Commission today on possible next steps for further strengthening the rule of law in the European Union (press material here) as announced in the Commission's Work Programme for 2019. Today's consultative Communication will be followed by a more forward-looking initiative in June. Under the Treaties, the Commission can propose legal acts to evaluate the implementation by Member States of Union policies in the area of freedom, security and justice, and to strengthen the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights. The European Commission therefore considered the initiative legally admissible and decided to register it.

The organisers call on the Commission to ‘establish an obligation for digital platforms to pay a guaranteed minimum income to self-employed people who regularly work for them.' The organisers argue such measures would ‘safeguard and stabilise their income and […] specifically tackle job insecurity of ‘uberised' workers'.

Under the Treaties, the EU can take legal action to make it easier for Europeans to take-up and pursue activities as self-employed persons. The Commission therefore considered the initiative legally admissible and decided to register it.

The European Commission has today decided not to register a European Citizens' Initiative entitled 'EU wide referendum whether the European Citizens want the United Kingdom to remain or to leave!'.

The Commission found that that the conditions for registration of this initiative were not met as the matter falls outside of the EU's field of competence.

The European Commission has today decided to register a European Citizens' Initiative entitled 'Mandatory food labelling Non-Vegetarian / Vegetarian / Vegan'.

The initiative states that: "Vegetarians and vegans struggle across the EU to identify suitable food. We must study the ingredients list of a food product to determine if it is fit for purchase with a hyper-awareness of ambiguous ingredients that could either be plant or animal based". The organisers call on the European Commission to propose mandatory pictorial labels on all food products indicating whether they are non-vegetarian, vegetarian, or vegan.

The Commission's decision to register the Initiative concerns only the legal admissibility of the proposal. The Commission has not analysed the substance at this stage.

The College of Commissioners has today decided to register a European Citizens' Initiative entitled ‘Eat ORIGINal! Unmask your food'.

The stated objective of the proposed Citizens' Initiative is to impose mandatory declarations of origin for all food products in order to prevent fraud, protect public health and guarantee consumers' right to information.

The Commission's decision to register the Initiative only concerns the legal admissibility of the proposal. The Commission has not analysed the substance at this stage.

The College of Commissioners has today decided to register a European Citizens' Initiative entitled ‘STOP FRAUD and abuse of EU FUNDS - by better control of decisions, implementation and penalties'.

The proposed Citizens' Initiative calls for the application of enhanced controls and stricter sanctions in Member States which are not part of the European Public Prosecutor's Office to protect the Union's financial interests.

The College Decision notes that statements of support should be collected on the understanding that they would be supporting proposals which do not differentiate between Member States solely according to their participation or non-participation in the European Public Prosecutor's Office. This is because under the Treaties legal acts may not differentiate between Member States solely based on whether they participate in an enhanced cooperation. They can however do so when objectively justified, for example if there are different levels of protection of the financial interests of the Union.

The Commission's decision to register the Initiative only concerns the legal admissibility of the proposal. The Commission has not analysed the substance at this stage.

The College of Commissioners has today decided to register a European Citizens' Initiative entitled 'End the Cage Age'.

The stated objectives of the proposed Citizens' Initiative are to end "inhumane treatment of farm animals" kept in cages. The organisers are asking the Commission to propose legislation to prohibit the use of: cages for laying hens, rabbits, pullets, broiler breeders, layer breeders, quail, ducks and geese; farrowing crates for sows; sow stalls and individual calf pens, where not already prohibited.

The Commission's decision to register the Initiative concerns only the legal admissibility of the proposal. The Commission has not analysed the substance at this stage.

The College of Commissioners has today decided to register a European Citizens' Initiative entitled 'Permanent European Union Citizenship'.

The main objective of the proposed initiative is to guarantee that European citizenship and its associated rights cannot be lost once they have been attained. The organisers cite in particular the context of Brexit and the future loss of EU citizenship and rights of UK citizens.

The Commission's decision to register the Initiative concerns only the legal admissibility of the proposal. The Commission has not analysed the substance at this stage.

The College of Commissioners has today decided to register a European Citizens' Initiative entitled 'Stop starvation for 8% of the European population!'.

The stated objectives of the proposed Citizens' Initiative include "to prompt governments to embrace the hunger problem" and to "emphasize the responsibility of governments to eradicate the problem." The organisers of the Initiative have set out a detailed list of actions where they call on the Commission to make legislative proposals. These range from the creation of a food stamp programme to a reform of agricultural derivatives markets, and a new classification system for food waste with associated targets and processing rules.

The Commission's decision to register the Initiative concerns only the legal admissibility of the proposal. The Commission has not analysed the substance at this stage.