European Citizens’ Initiative: Commission decides to register initiative on European football and sports

This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission.

Today, the Commission decided to register a European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) entitled ‘Win It On The Pitch’.

The organisers of the initiative call on the Commission to protect a European model of sport “based on values, solidarity, sustainability and open competition”. They ask the Commission to adopt a Recommendation that provides a framework and guidelines for action from Member States “to protect the model of football in Europe, to recognise the social value of sport in European society and the specific nature of sport in the EU competition rules and to strengthen the EU vision and long-term policy on the future and governance of European sport”.

As the request for registration of ECI fulfils the formal conditions established in the relevant legislation, the Commission considers that this is legally admissible. The Commission has not analysed the substance of the initiative at this stage.

Next steps

Following today’s registration, the organisers have six months to open the signature collection. If a European Citizens’ Initiative receives one million statements of support within one year from at least seven different Member States, the Commission will have to react. The Commission could decide either to take the request forward or not, and will be required to explain its reasoning.

Background

The European Citizens’ Initiative was introduced with the Lisbon Treaty as an agenda-setting tool in the hands of citizens. It was officially launched in April 2012. Once formally registered, a European Citizens’ Initiative allows 1 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 proposal for a legal act, (2) it is not manifestly abusive, frivolous or vexatious and (3) it is not manifestly contrary to the values of the Union.

Since the beginning of the ECI, the Commission has received 111 requests to launch a European Citizens’ Initiative, 87 of which were admissible and thus qualified to be registered.