European Associations Directive adopted by Legal Affairs Committee

The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has today (February 13) voted by a large majority in favour of the law on the creation of European associations.

The introduction of this new legal form will enable citizens to organise themselves into associations across national borders. It is aimed at improving the Internal Market’s functioning by removing legal and administrative barriers for nonprofit associations that operate (or wish to) in more than one Member State.

The proposal was adopted by the EU Commission back in September 2023. Once adopted, Member States will have two years to transpose the Directive into national law.

The 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 longstanding 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 commented:

“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. This vote is expected to take place in April. Read more on this topic here and here.