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On 21 March 2024, the winners of the ‘ImagineEU’ competition for secondary school students were honoured during an award ceremony at the European Commission headquarters in Brussels. The three winning teams from France, Italy and Romania participate in a three-day study visit to the European institutions. The ImagineEU video competition builds on the concept of the European Citizens’ Initiative and aims to empower young citizens to play an active role in influencing EU policies. It invited 16–18-year-old students from across the EU to create and share short videos presenting their ideas for changes at European level that can improve the quality of life in their communities. Watch the winning videos.

On 21 February and 12 March, the European Commission published a call for evidence and a public consultation. They aim to seek views and expertise on the environmental, social and economic consequences of a potential ban on EU sales and international trade of loose shark fins and collecting feedback on potential policy options to better protect sharks and related marine ecosystems. 

The aim is to ensure the best informed, participatory and transparent way of deciding on the follow-up to the 2023 European citizens’ initiative “Stop Finning – Stop the Trade”. 

On 22 February 2024, the Court of Justice delivered its judgment in case C-54/22 P, Romania v Commission. The Commission’s 2019 decision to partially register the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) ‘Cohesion policy for the equality of the regions and sustainability of the regional cultures’ is upheld following the dismissal of Romania’s appeal.    

The ImagineEU video competition, launched in October 2023, invited young Europeans to think of concrete ideas that could benefit citizens across the EU – similarly to the European Citizens’ Initiative.    

 The jury selected the three best videos, submitted by school teams from France, Italy and Romania. The teams are awarded a study trip to Brussels in March.  

On 9 February 2024 Stella Kyriakides, European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, received representatives of the successful European citizens` initiative 'Fur Free Europe'.

In the meeting the Commissioner presented the Commission's reply to this initiative, adopted on 7 December 2023, and replied to the questions of the organisers. 

On 6 February the Commission registered a European citizens' initiative entitled 'European Cannabis Initiative'.

The organisers call on the Commission to: (i) convene a trans-European citizens’ assembly on cannabis policies, including sanctions and the consistency of Member States’ policies; (ii) foster access to medical cannabis and allow the transportation of cannabis and its derivatives prescribed for therapeutic purposes to ensure the full enjoyment of the right to health and (iii) allocate the necessary resources for researching cannabis for its therapeutic purposes. 

The Commission has concluded that the initiative can only be registered as regards the second and third objectives, as only these objectives fulfil the requirements for registration. The Commission had to refuse the registration of the first objective of the initiative, as it falls outside the Commission’s powers to submit a proposal for a legal act of the Union.

The partial registration followed a two-stage procedure, in which organisers, in a first stage, were invited to amend their initial initiative, taking into account the first assessment of the Commission. 

The organisers have six months to open the signature collection. 

Polish citizens can now use eID (Profil Zaufany/mObywatel) to support European citizens' initiatives on the Central Online Collection System. Poland is the 18th EU country enabling the use of a national eID system for signing European citizens' initiatives. Check the status for all EU countries. 

The European Commission decided to register two European citizens' initiatives on 24 January.

The initiative ‘Ban on conversion practices in the European Union’ calls for a ban on interventions aimed at changing, repressing or suppressing the sexual orientation, gender identity and/or gender expression of LGBTIQ+ citizens.

The initiative ‘European Citizens’ Initiative in Defence of Agriculture and Rural Economy in Europe’ calls for the protection of European agriculture and rural economy through a regulatory framework based on several elements including priority use of agricultural land for food production, guaranteeing food sovereignty and addressing food chain issues and high prices. 

The organisers have six months now to choose the moment to start the collection of support.

The public voting of the ‘ImagineEU’ video competition opened on 20 December. Students in their last two years of secondary school were asked to present in a short video their concrete ideas that could benefit citizens across the European Union – similarly to the European Citizens’ Initiative. 

You can now view the videos produced by the students and vote for your favorite ones – you can vote for as many videos as you like - until 28 January 2024.

The European Commission published today its response to the European citizens' initiative ‘Fur Free Europe’, the tenth successful initiative supported by over 1 million citizens across the EU. The initiative collected over 1.5 million valid signatures and reached required thresholds in 18 Member States.

Read the Commission communication.