Commission decides to register two new European Citizens’ Initiatives on water resilience and psychedelics assisted care

Today, the European Commission decided to register two European Citizens’ Initiatives, entitled ‘ECI for a Water-Smart and Resilient Europe’ and ‘PsychedeliCare’.

The aims of the organisers of the ‘ECI for a Water-Smart and Resilient Europe’ include: advocating for an action plan for water; elevating water resilience to the same priority as decarbonisation; reducing society’s water footprint; accelerating a shift towards water-efficient industry and agriculture; ensuring the right skills for a water-smart economy; supporting restoration and protection efforts; and ensuring the right to clean and safe water and sanitation.

The organisers of the ‘PsychedeliCare’ initiative call on the Commission to support expert consensus on psychedelic care standards and the rollout of psychedelic therapies, as well as capacity building efforts for multidisciplinary training. The initiative also urges the Commission to boost research into the therapeutic applications of psychedelics and the development of research networks, as well as to adopt common positions at international level advocating for regulations on psychedelic compounds.

Both European Citizens’ Initiatives fulfil the formal conditions established in the relevant legislation. The Commission therefore considers that they are legally admissible. The Commission has not analysed the substance of the proposals at this stage.

The decision to register an initiative is based on a legal analysis of its admissibility under the European Citizens’ Initiative Regulation. It does not prejudge the legal and political conclusions of the Commission on these initiatives and the action it would take, if any, in case any of these initiatives obtains the necessary support of at least one million EU citizens.

The content of the initiatives only expresses the views of the group of organisers, and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the Commission.

Next Steps

Following today’s registration, the organisers have six months to open the signature collection. If a European Citizens’ Initiative receives at least one million statements of support within one year with minimum numbers reached in at least seven different Member States, the Commission will have to react. The Commission will have to decide whether or not it will take action in response to the request, 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 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 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 European Citizens’ Initiative, the Commission has registered 118 initiatives.

Source: European Comission