Let'sFly2Europe                                                     

The first initiative was registered on 2 September 2016 and is entitled "Let'sfly2Europe: Enable Safe and Legal Access to Europe for Refugees!".

The initiative invites the Commission to propose "an abolition of provisions under Directive 2001/51/EC which penalise transport companies allowing refugees to enter the EU via airplane".

The main objectives of the initiative as described by its organisers point to the following: "Refugees may not board airplanes because if their asylum application is rejected, the carrier will face a fine of several thousand euros under Directive 2001/51/EC and Article 26(2) and (3) of the Schengen acquis. These provisions have the painful effect of barring entry to foreigners seeking asylum, as it is more difficult or even impossible for them to make their way to the EU, even though they face political persecution. We demand that both provisions be abolished."

More information on the initiative is available in the ECI Register and on the organisers' campaign website: http://www.letsfly2europe.eu/.

People4Soil                                                                         

The initiative "People4Soil: Sign the citizens' initiative to save the soils of Europe!" was registered on 12 September 2016.

The initiative invites the Commission to "recognise soil as a shared heritage that needs EU level protection and develop a dedicated legally binding framework covering the main soil threats."

The main objectives of the initiative as described by its organisers are the following:

• "Recognise soil as a shared heritage that needs EU level protection, as it provides essential benefits connected to human well-being and environmental resilience;
• develop a dedicated legally binding framework covering the main soil threats: erosion, sealing, organic matter decline, biodiversity loss and contamination; integrate soil related UN Sustainable Development Goals into EU policies;
• properly account and reduce greenhouse gases emissions from the farming and forestry sectors."

More information on the initiative is available in the ECI Register and on the organisers' campaign website: http://www.people4soil.eu/.

The European Citizens' Initiative (ECI) was introduced by the Treaty of Lisbon and allows one million citizens from at least one quarter of EU Member States to invite the European Commission to propose a legal act in areas where the Commission has the power to do so under the EU Treaties.

The Commission's decision to register the proposed initiatives is the first step of the ECI procedure and concerns only the legal admissibility of the proposals as foreseen by Regulation (EU) No 211/2011 on the citizens' initiative (ECI Regulation).

Following the registration, the initiatives start the one-year period for the collection of statements of support by their organisers. EU citizens old enough to vote in the European Parliament elections (18 except in Austria, where the voting age is 16) can sign a citizens' initiative. To give their support to an initiative, citizens have to fill in a specific statement of support form provided by the organisers, on paper or online.

If a registered citizens' initiative receives the signatures of one million validated statements of support from at least seven Member States, the Commission will carefully examine the initiative and within three months:

• Commission representatives will so they can explain in detail the issues raised in their initiative

• The organisers will have the opportunity to present their initiative at a in the European Parliament

• The Commission will adopt a formal response spelling out what to the citizens' initiative, if any, and the for doing or not doing so. The response, which will take the form of a communication, will be formally adopted by the College of Commissioners and published in all official EU languages.

In addition to the two new initiatives "Let'sFly2Europe" and "People4Soil", there are currently 3 other citizens' initiatives collecting statements of support across the EU: "Fair Transport Europe – equal treatment for all transport workers" (deadline for collection: 14 September 2016); "Stop Plastic in the Sea"; and "Mum, Dad & Kids - European Citizens' Initiative to protect Marriage and Family"

Since the entry into application of the ECI Regulation in 2012, the Commission has registered a total of 38 proposed citizens' initiatives. Three of them ("Right2Water"; "One of us" and "Stop vivisection") have been successful in reaching the one million signatures threshold and have been replied to by the Commission.