Commission Decision of 18 July 2018 on the proposed citizens' initiative entitled ‘Stop Starvation for 8 % of the European population!’
Date: 2018-07-18
Institutions: European Commission, Secretariat-General
Subjects: European citizenship, food shortage, petition




C_2018260EN.01000601.xml










24.7.2018   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 260/6






COMMISSION DECISION
of 18 July 2018
on the proposed citizens' initiative entitled ‘Stop Starvation for 8 % of the European population!’
(Only the English text is authentic)
(2018/C 260/07)
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Having regard to Regulation (EU) No 211/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 February 2011 on the citizens' initiative (1), and in particular Article 4 thereof,
Whereas:






(1)


The subject-matter of the proposed citizens' initiative entitled ‘Stop starvation for 8 % of the European population’ refers to the following: ‘Access to food is part of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The European Union was the second largest GDP worldwide in 2016 but still starvation is part of our environment’.










(2)


The stated objectives of the proposed citizens' initiative are ‘to prompt governments to embrace the hunger problem which is still a major concern. European citizens who are suffering from food scarcity is estimated at 46 million (8 % of total EU pop.) and this number is not decreasing. The initiative will not only emphasize the responsibility of governments to eradicate the problem but will also highlight cost impact related to hunger and propose a list of actions that will significantly reduce this heresy’.










(3)


The annex to the proposed citizens' initiative mentions specifically a number of requests organised under 5 headings: ‘1. Eradicate the culture of waste to generate 44 million tons of food within two years.’, ‘2. Implement a Financial Transaction Tax to generate EUR 30 billion per year.’, ‘3. Hunger should be solved by public authorities, not by charities.’, ‘4. Food speculation.’ and ‘5. Qualitative proposal.’ aiming at ‘innovation within states to improve the access to sponsored food’.










(4)


The Treaty on European Union reinforces citizenship of the Union and enhances further the democratic functioning of the Union by providing, inter alia, that every citizen is to have the right to participate in the democratic life of the Union by way of a European citizens' initiative.










(5)


To this end, the procedures and conditions required for the citizens' initiative should be clear, simple, user-friendly and proportionate to the nature of the citizens' initiative so as to encourage participation by citizens and to make the Union more accessible.










(6)


Legal acts of the Union for the purpose of implementing the Treaties can be adopted:






—


for provisions for the harmonisation of legislation concerning turnover taxes, excise duties and other forms of indirect taxation to the extent that such harmonisation is necessary to ensure the establishment and the functioning of the internal market and to avoid distortion of competitions, on the basis of Article 113 TFEU;










—


for the approximation of the provisions laid down by law, regulation or administrative action in Member States which have as their object the establishment and functioning of the internal market, on the basis of Article 114 TFEU;










—


in the field of specific actions outside the Structural Funds and in order to promote the overall harmonious development of the Union, developing and pursuing actions leading to the strengthening of its economic, social and territorial cohesion as foreseen in Article 174 TFEU, on the basis of Article 175 (3) TFEU;










—


in the areas of preserving, protecting and improving the quality of the environment, protecting human health, for the prudent and rational utilisation of natural resources and the promotion at international level of measures to deal with regional or worldwide environmental problems, and in particular combating climate change, on the basis of Article 192(1) TFEU;










—


for provisions and implementing measures relating to the system of own resources of the Union budget, including establishing new categories of own resources or abolish an existing category on the basis of Article 311 TFEU;










—


in the field of financial rules which determine in particular the procedure to be adopted for establishing and implementing the budget of the Union, on the basis of Article 322(1) (a) TFEU.














(7)


For those reasons, the proposed citizens' initiative does not fall manifestly outside the framework of the Commission's powers to submit proposals for legal acts of the Union for the purpose of implementing the Treaties.










(8)


Furthermore, the citizens' committee has been formed and the contact persons have been designated in accordance with Article 3(2) of Regulation (EU) No 211/2011 and the proposed citizens' initiative is neither manifestly abusive, frivolous or vexatious nor manifestly contrary to the values of the Union as set out in Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union.










(9)


The proposed citizens' initiative entitled ‘Stop starvation for 8 % of the European population’ should therefore be registered,




HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1
The proposed citizens' initiative entitled ‘Stop starvation for 8 % of the European population’ is hereby registered.


Article 2
This Decision shall enter into force on 19 July 2018.


Article 3
This Decision is addressed to the organisers (members of the citizens' committee) of the proposed citizens' initiative entitled ‘Stop starvation for 8 % of the European population’, represented by [Personal data deleted following the consultation of the organisers] acting as contact persons.


Done at Brussels, 18 July 2018.


For the Commission

Frans TIMMERMANS

First Vice-President





(1)  OJ L 65, 11.3.2011, p. 1