Judgment of the General Court Eighth Chamber of 9 November 2022, Minority SafePack – one million signatures for diversity in Europe v Commission, T-158/21

• Date: 09 November 2022
• Year: 2022

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I. INSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS

1. EUROPEAN CITIZENS’ INITIATIVE

Judgment of the General Court (Eighth Chamber) of 9 November 2022, Minority SafePack –

one million signatures for diversity in Europe v Commission, T-158/21

Link to the full text of the judgment

Law governing the institutions – European citizens’ initiative – ‘Minority SafePack – one million signatures

for diversity in Europe’ – Commission communication setting out the reasons for not adopting the

proposals for legal acts contained in the European citizens’ initiative – Obligation to state reasons – Equal

treatment – Principle of sound administration – Manifest error of assessment

The applicant, Citizens’ Committee of the European Citizens’ Initiative ‘Minority SafePack – one million

signatures for diversity in Europe’, requested that the European Commission register the proposed

European citizens’ initiative (ECI) entitled ‘Minority SafePack – one million signatures for diversity in

Europe’.

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The aim of the proposed ECI was to invite the European Union to adopt a series of acts in order to

improve the protection of persons belonging to national and linguistic minorities and to strengthen

cultural and linguistic diversity in the European Union.

Following the registration of the proposed ECI by the Commission

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and the collection of a sufficient

number of signatures in support, the applicant submitted the ECI at issue to the Commission. After

the European Parliament defined its position on that ECI,

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the Commission adopted, on 14 January

2021, the communication

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by which it refused to take the action requested in the ECI, concerning,

inter alia, among the nine proposals listed:

- a recommendation of the Council on the protection and promotion of cultural and linguistic

diversity in the European Union (proposal 1);

- a decision or a regulation of the Parliament and of the Council to create a centre for linguistic

diversity in the field of regional and minority languages that would be financed by the European

Union and responsible for promoting diversity at all levels (proposal 3);

- the amendment of EU legislation in order to guarantee approximately equal treatment for

stateless persons and citizens of the European Union (proposal 6); and

- an amendment of the Audiovisual Media Services Directive,

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to ensure freedom to provide services

and the reception of audiovisual content in regions where national minorities reside (proposal 8).

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Pursuant to Regulation (EU) No211/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 February 2011 on the citizens’ initiative ( OJ

2011 L 65, p. 1), repealed and replaced with effect from 1 January 2020 by Regulation (EU) 2019/788 of the European Parliament and of the

Council of 17 April 2019 on the European citizens’ initiative (OJ 2019 L 130, p. 55).

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Commission Decision (EU) 2017/652 of 29 March 2017 on the proposed citizens’ initiative entitled ‘Minority SafePack – one million signatures

for diversity in Europe’ (OJ 2017 L 92, p. 100).

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Parliament Resolution (2020)2846(RSP), P9_TA-PROV (2020)0370 of 17 December 2020.

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Commission Communication C(2021) 171 final of 14 January 2021.

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Directive 2010/13/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 March 2010 on the coordination of certain provisions laid down

by law, regulation or administrative action in Member States concerning the provision of audiovisual media services (Audiovisual Media

Services Directive) (OJ 2010 L 95, p. 1).