(1)

A request for registration of a European citizens’ initiative entitled ‘Save Europe Act’ was submitted to the Commission on 8 June 2026.

(2)

On 24 June 2026, the Commission informed the group of organisers of its preliminary assessment and invited it to submit comments. The group of organisers submitted its comments on 29 June 2026.

(3)

The aim of the initiative as expressed by the organisers is to call on the Commission ‘to propose a Union act establishing a temporary moratorium on new non-Western immigration channels, including study and family reunification visas, while fundamentally reforming the EU migration and asylum system. The act should strengthen external border protection, rapid screening and return procedures, and provide for the systematic and accelerated remigration of illegally staying migrants, rejected asylum seekers, and further categories of non-European migrants whose continued stay places a serious burden on Member States. It should also ensure mutual recognition of return decisions across the Union, stronger cooperation with third countries on readmission, and the removal of welfare pull factors that encourage further migration into Europe.’ An annex to the initiative provides further details on its background, its subject matter and its objectives.

(4)

The group of organisers has provided appropriate evidence that it fulfils the requirements laid down in Article 5(1) and (2) of Regulation (EU) 2019/788 and has designated the contact persons in accordance with Article 5(3), first subparagraph, of that Regulation.

(5)

The Commission notes that all the proposed objectives of the initiative have, as their starting point, the ‘temporary moratorium on new non-Western immigration channels’. The proposed generalised moratorium on immigration – defined on the basis of ‘ethnic and cultural continuity’ of ‘native peoples of Europe’ against what the initiative characterises as ‘demographic replacement’ by ‘non-Western’ and ‘non-European’ migrants – would not be based on migration-management criteria but on the ethnic, cultural or civilisational origin of the persons concerned. Therefore, the proposed generalised moratorium would discriminate on the basis of race and ethnic origin. It is thus manifestly contrary to Article 21 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (2) and to the values enshrined in Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU), upon which the Union is founded.

(6)

Contrary to the comments submitted by the group of organisers, the term ‘non-Western’ cannot refer ‘exclusively to external migration flows and third-country nationals’, given that the initiative targets only people with a specifically ‘non-European’ or ‘non-Western’ origin.

(7)

The group of organisers further points out that the initiative is justified by ‘cultural and demographic continuity of the peoples of Europe’ and that Article 4(2) TEU obliges the Union to respect the national identities of the Member States. However, Article 4(2) TEU protects only a view of the national identities which is consistent with the values enshrined in Article 2 TEU (3). Therefore, respect for national identities under Article 4(2) TEU does not authorise measures that are incompatible with the Union’s foundational values or fundamental rights and thus the group of organisers cannot rely on national identity to justify a broad exclusion from immigration channels based on ethnic origin.

(8)

For those reasons, the initiative entitled ‘Save Europe Act’ is manifestly contrary to the values of the Union as set out in Article 2 TEU and rights enshrined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union within the meaning of Article 6(3), first subparagraph, point (e), of Regulation (EU) 2019/788.

(9)

Therefore, in line with Article 6(3), third subparagraph, of Regulation (EU) 2019/788, the request for registration of the initiative entitled ‘Save Europe Act’ should be refused,