http://www.legislation.gov.uk/eur/2019/788/chapter/IRegulation (EU) 2019/788 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2019 on the European citizens’ initiativeRegulation (EU) 2019/788 of the European Parliament and of the CouncilRegulation (EU) 2019/788 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2019 on the European citizens’ initiative2020-12-12King's Printer of Acts of Parliamenthttps://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/eu-exit/https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:02019R0788-20200201texttext/xmlen2020-02-01 CHAPTER I <Strong>GENERAL PROVISIONS</Strong> Subject matter Article 1 This Regulation establishes the procedures and conditions required for an initiative inviting the Commission, within the framework of its powers, to submit any appropriate proposal on matters where citizens of the Union consider that a legal act of the Union is required for the purpose of implementing the Treaties (the ‘European citizens' initiative’ or ‘initiative’). Right to support a European citizens' initiative Article 2 1 Every citizen of the Union who is at least of the age to be entitled to vote in elections to the European Parliament shall have the right to support an initiative by signing a statement of support, in accordance with this Regulation. Member States may set the minimum age entitling to support an initiative at 16 years, in accordance with their national laws, and in such a case they shall inform the Commission accordingly. 2 In accordance with the applicable law, Member States and the Commission shall ensure that persons with disabilities can exercise their right to support initiatives and can access all relevant sources of information on initiatives, on an equal basis with other citizens. Required number of signatories Article 3 1 An initiative is valid if: a it has received the support of at least one million citizens of the Union in accordance with Article 2(1) (‘signatories’) from at least one quarter of the Member States; and b in at least one quarter of the Member States, the number of signatories is at least equal to the minimum number set out in Annex I, corresponding to the number of the Members of the European Parliament elected in each Member State, multiplied by the total number of Members of the European Parliament, at the time of registration of the initiative. 2 For the purposes of paragraph 1, a signatory shall be counted in his or her Member State of nationality, irrespective of the place where the statement of support was signed by the signatory. Information and assistance by the Commission and by Member States Article 4 1 The Commission shall provide easily accessible and comprehensive information and assistance about the European citizens' initiative to citizens and groups of organisers, including by redirecting them to the relevant sources of information and assistance. The Commission shall make a guide on the European citizens' initiative publicly available, both online and in paper form and in all the official languages of the institutions of the Union. 2 The Commission shall make an online collaborative platform for the European citizens' initiative available, free of charge. The platform shall provide practical and legal advice, and a discussion forum about the European citizens' initiative for the exchange of information and best practices among citizens, groups of organisers, stakeholders, non-governmental organisations, experts and other institutions and bodies of the Union wishing to participate. The platform shall be accessible for persons with disabilities. The costs of operating and maintaining the platform shall be borne by the general budget of the European Union. 3 The Commission shall make an online register available that allows groups of organisers to manage their initiative throughout the procedure. The register shall comprise a public website that provides information on the European citizens' initiative in general as well as on specific initiatives and their respective status. The Commission shall update the register on a regular basis by making the information submitted by the group of organisers available. 4 After the Commission has registered an initiative in accordance with Article 6, it shall provide the translation of the content of that initiative, including its annex, into all the official languages of the institutions of the Union, within the limits set out in Annex II, for its publication in the register and its use for the collection of statements of support in accordance with this Regulation. The group of organisers may, in addition, provide translations into all the official languages of the institutions of the Union of the additional information on the initiative and, if any, a draft legal act referred to in Annex II, submitted in accordance with Article 6(2). Those translations shall be the responsibility of the group of organisers. The content of the translations provided by the group of organisers shall correspond to the content of the initiative submitted in accordance with Article 6(2). The Commission shall ensure the publication in the register and on the public website on the European citizens' initiative of the information submitted in accordance with Article 6(2) and the translations submitted in accordance with this paragraph. 5 The Commission shall develop a file exchange service for the transfer of statements of support to the competent authorities of the Member States, in accordance with Article 12, and make it available free of charge to the groups of organisers. 6 Each Member State shall establish one or more contact points to provide, free of charge, information and assistance to groups of organisers, in accordance with applicable Union and national law.