The European Association becomes reality: Success for European civil society!
Press Information | 13.02.2024
The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament today voted by a large majority in favour of the law on the creation of European associations. With the introduction of this new legal form, citizens will be able to organise themselves into associations across national borders. The new law builds on the Lagodinsky-report by Greens/EFA rapporteur Sergey Lagodinsky on a “Statute for European cross-border associations and non-profit organisations”, which the European Parliament adopted by an overwhelming majority in February 2022. The law takes up long-standing calls from civil society to introduce EU-wide measures to protect them.
Sergey Lagodinsky (MEP, Alliance 90/The Greens), Vice-Chair of the Legal Affairs Committee in the European Parliament and Rapporteur of the Legal Affairs Committee comments:
“With the introduction of European cross-border associations, we are taking a decisive step to elevate the status of non-profit organizations and put them on an equal footing with commercial representations in Europe. Today is a great day for civil society and democracy in Europe!
Democracy does not stop at our national borders, and many civil society projects long to identifying and constituting themselves as truly European. This has not been possible until now. By founding a European association, citizens can engage more freely throughout the EU and we come a step closer to creating a truly European civil society.”
The approval of the Legal Affairs Committee will now be followed by a vote in the plenary of the European Parliament before the so-called trilogue negotiations with the governments of the Member States begin in the next mandate.
via European Parliament
