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The ECI Day 2023, organised by the European Economic and Social Committee and its partners, will focus on the skills that organisers need to make their initiative a success – in relation to the European Year of Skills. The conference will be attended by the Vice-President of the European Commission for Values and Transparency Věra Jourová.

The 'EU Democracy in Action - Have Your Say with the European Citizens' Initiative' toolkit for schools, developed by the Commission, will be officially launched at the event.

The event will be hybrid, with participation in person in Brussels or online. Registration is open until 4 June.

The European Parliament will hold a public hearing on the ninth successful European Citizens’ Initiative “Save cruelty free cosmetics - commit to a Europe without animal testing” on 25 May 2023 from 9.00 a.m. to 12.00 p.m. The organisers will present the initiative's objectives and engage with Members of the European Parliament. European Commission's representatives will also participate.

The meeting is webstreamed and recorded.

Thanks to an amendment to the national provisions on European citizens’ initiative, applying as of 1 May 2023, Belgian citizens can support European citizens’ initiatives from age 16.

There are altogether six countries where it is possible to support ECIs below age 18.

On 18 April the Commission registered a European citizens' initiative entitled ‘Connecting all European capitals and people through a high-speed train network’.  

It calls for connecting all European capitals through high-speed railway lines by linking the existing high-speed railway networks and by building high-speed lines where these do not yet exist.

This is the fourth citizens initiative registered in 2023, and overall 100th, marking an important milestone since the introduction of the tool in 2012.

The European Commission published today its response to the European citizens' initiative ‘Save bees and farmers! Towards a bee-friendly agriculture for a healthy environment', the seventh successful initiative supported by over 1 million citizens across the EU.

Read the Commission communication. 

The European Parliament will hold a public hearing on the eighth successful European Citizens’ Initiative Stop Finning – Stop the trade on 27 March from 3.00 to 6.00 p.m. The organisers will present the initiative's objectives and engage with Members of the European Parliament. European Commission's representatives will also participate.

The meeting is webstreamed and recorded.

On 22 March the Commission registered a European citizens' initiative entitled ‘End The Horse Slaughter Age’.

It calls for new laws to ban the slaughter of horses, stop long-distance transportation of horses across Europe for slaughter and to protect horses from being compelled to do excess work or hard training.

This is the third initiative registered in 2023. Its organisers have six months now to choose the moment to start the collection of support.

On 17 March 2023, the organisers of the ninth successful European Citizens’ Initiative ‘SAVE CRUELTY FREE COSMETICS - COMMIT TO A EUROPE WITHOUT ANIMAL TESTING’  met with Vera Jourová, Vice-President of the European Commission in charge of Values and Transparency, and Thierry Breton, European Commissioner for Internal Market, to present the objectives of their initiative in more depth. 

Members of the European Parliament will debate on the seventh successful European citizens’ initiative "Save bees and farmers! Towards a bee-friendly agriculture for a healthy environment" in the plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, on Thursday 16 March at 9.00.

The plenary session is webstreamed and recorded.

On 22 February the Commission registered a European citizens' initiative titled ‘Ensuring a dignified reception of migrants in Europe'. 

It calls for developing a new system for the distribution of asylum seekers throughout the EU, based on their free will, while ensuring effective solidarity between Member States. It also calls for binding reception standards guaranteeing dignified living conditions for asylum seekers across the EU, for example in terms of food, health, housing, education and work.

This is the second initiative registered in 2023. Its organisers have six months now to choose the moment to start the collection of support.