The European Commission has rejected a citizens’ initiative calling itself the 'Save Europe Act' on the basis that its provisions could be deemed discriminatory against the ethnic, cultural, or civilizational origin of persons. The far-right activists behind the act are reportedly planning to appeal the decision.
The European Commission rejected a so-called "Save Europe Act" Citizens' Initiative on Wednesday (July 22) which aimed to suspend legal migration channels to prevent what organizers describe as "demographic replacement."
The European Citizens’ Initiative for the Save Europe Act was registered last month. The registration was rejected on July 22 because the commission considered the provisions of the act to be discriminatory based on race or ethnic origin.
Citing "an inalienable right to preserve their collective identity, heritage and way of life," the Save Europe Act called on the European Commission to:
- establish a temporary moratorium on new non-Western immigration channels, including study and family reunification visas
- reform the EU migration and asylum system and strengthen external border protection, rapid screening and return procedures
- provide for the accelerated 'remigration' of illegally staying migrants, rejected asylum seekers, and other non-European migrants whose continued stay places a serious burden on member states.
- ensure mutual recognition of return decisions across the Union
- stronger cooperation with third countries on readmission
- removal of welfare pull factors that encourage further migration into Europe
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Act 'constitutes discrimination', declares Commission
In a statement after the conclusion of eligibility checks, the Commission cited its basis for rejecting the registration as "…the criteria on which the proposed moratorium would be based would constitute discrimination grounded on race and ethnic origin. This is because the proposed moratorium would be based on the ethnic, cultural, or civilizational origin of the persons concerned, without regard to the requirement for an individual, case-by-case assessment under the applicable legal framework."
Activists behind the far-right "Save Europe Act" campaign are reportedly planning to take the European Commission to court to appeal the decision.
It is important to note that the EC’s decision is a refusal to register the European Citizens Initiative, not a vote against a proposed legislation.
Registration of the initiative under the EC would have allowed the organizers to begin a 12-month official signature collection campaign.
However, even registered initiatives that secure one million verified signatures across the required minimum of seven countries cannot influence the Commission to legislate. It will however, advance the initiative to require the Commission to examine the proposal, meet the organizers and issue a decision.
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Tool for citizen participation in government
The European Citizens' Initiative is a way for citizens to shape EU policies by calling on the European Commission to propose new laws. If an initiative has been approved for registration, it must then collect one million valid signatures across at least seven EU member states for the Commission to decide on what action to take.
The ECI was launched in April 2012 and according to information on its website, since the launch of the European Citizens' Initiative, the EC has registered 135 initiatives to date.
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