Today, the European Commission registered two European Citizens' Initiatives (ECIs) entitled 'Rights for Nature: Empower Citizens to Represent and Protect Ecosystems' and 'Reconnecting nature through the creation of European biodiversity corridors'.
The 'Rights for Nature: Empower Citizens to Represent and Protect Ecosystems' initiative invites the Commission to 'recognise rights of nature in European law via a legal act such as a directive or a regulation to strengthen the protection of ecosystems'. In particular, the organisers 'seek to move from treating nature as property to recognising ecosystems as living entities with intrinsic value and fundamental rights', including 'the rights to exist, to regenerate their biocapacities and vital cycles, and to be restored'.
The 'Reconnecting nature through the creation of European biodiversity corridors' initiative invites the Commission to present a proposal 'to reconnect nature in Europe through a coordination framework for ecological connectivity between inland water and land ecosystems' and 'overcome ecosystem fragmentation and support biodiversity and resilience'. The organisers seek to promote common tools, ensure cross-border coordination and strengthen Natura 2000 .
As these initiatives fulfil the formal conditions established in the relevant legislation, the Commission considers them legally admissible under the European Citizens' Initiative Regulation . The Commission has not analysed the substance of the proposals at this stage. The registration does not influence the Commission's final decision on their merits, or any potential action it may take. The Commission will take a decision on an initiative only if it collects at least one million signatures from EU citizens.
Next steps
Following the registration of the two initiatives, the organisers have six months to open the 12-month period of signature collection. If an ECI receives at least one million statements of support during that time, with minimum numbers reached in at least seven Member States, the Commission is required to react and decide what, if any, action it will take in response to the initiative, justifying its decision.
Background
The ECI was introduced with the Lisbon Treaty as an agenda-setting tool for citizens. It was officially launched in April 2012. Once formally registered, a European Citizens' Initiative allows one million citizens from at least seven EU Member States to invite the European Commission to propose legal acts in areas where it has the power to act. The conditions for admissibility are: (1) the proposed action does not manifestly fall outside the framework of the Commission's powers to submit a legal proposal, (2) it is not manifestly abusive, frivolous or vexatious and (3) it is not manifestly contrary to the values of the Union.
Since the launch of the European Citizens' Initiative, the Commission has registered 131 initiatives.
The content of the initiatives only expresses the views of the organisers and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the Commission.
