Commission registers two European Citizens' Initiatives on education and housing

On 17 July, the European Commission registered two European Citizens' Initiatives (ECIs) entitled: ‘All On Board - For your right to citizenship without borders' and ‘Right to Housing! Now and Forever'.

The initiative ‘All On Board - For your right to citizenship without borders' calls for ‘an all-of-society approach for a democratic Europe, resting on education and universal suffrage'. Its organisers consider that EU citizens should have the right to: ‘Learn about European rights, values and participation in the EU', ‘Experience participation in a European exchange program' and ‘Have their results recognised and validated back home and across the EU through academic, technical, vocational and transversal qualifications treated equally'.

The initiative ‘Right to Housing! Now and Forever' calls for ‘access to housing that is affordable, sustainable and fair'. Its organisers propose the introduction of measures to regulate ‘short-term rentals and vacancy'. They call for the conversion of ‘empty buildings, like vacant homes and offices, into housing', the setting of ‘enforceable standards to keep housing affordable and sustainable' and the establishment of an ‘EU Housing Agency'.

As these initiatives fulfil the formal conditions established in the relevant legislation, the Commission considers them legally admissible under the European Citizens' Initiative Regulation. At this stage, the Commission only checked whether the initiative meets the legal conditions for registration. 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.

More information is available in the press release.

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