‘Fur Free Europe’: Commission decides to register new European Citizens’ Initiative on banning fur in the EU

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

Today, the European Commission decided to register a European Citizens’ Initiative entitled ‘Fur Free Europe’. The organisers of the initiative call on the Commission to introduce an EU-wide ban on keeping and killing animals for the purpose of fur production. They also ask for a ban on placing such fur and products containing it on the EU market.

As the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) fulfils the formal conditions, the Commission considers that this it is legally admissible. The Commission has not analysed the substance of the proposal at this stage.

Next Steps

Following today’s registration, the organisers can start collecting signatures. 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. 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 112 requests to launch a European Citizens’ Initiative, 88 of which were admissible and thus qualified to be registered.