Defending the Court, Mobilizing Youth: Our July Update

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Dear Readers,

Although summer is now well and truly underway in Brussels, the ECIT team has been working at full speed throughout July. This month, the ECIT Foundation achieved an important milestone: the European Commission officially registered our “All On Board” European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI), giving us the green light to prepare for our pan-European signature drive.

Building directly on this momentum, we brought together partners and experts for a dynamic strategy workshop to sharpen our roadmap for the autumn launch. Alongside these campaign strides, our policy team stayed active on the institutional front, attending a high-stakes Parliamentary hearing to defend the Court of Justice of the European Union against dangerous political overreach.

In this edition, we share the key outcomes of our July Partners’ Workshop, unpack why a controversial new report in the European Parliament threatens every mobile citizen’s legal rights, and invite you to our upcoming ECIT Summer School on 31 August.

Milestone Reached: “All On Board” ECI Officially Registered!

The European Commission has officially registered the “All On Board – For your right to citizenship without borders” ECI. This marks an important turning point for our citizen-led movement to make European citizenship a lived, accessible reality for everyone, not just a privileged minority.

You can find the full Press Release HERE

Registration officially allows us to prepare for the upcoming signature collection campaign, where we will need one million validated signatures across the EU to compel legislative action. Over the coming months, we are focusing on expanding our partner network and establishing local Youth Task Forces across Member States.

👉 Get Involved: Young Europeans interested in starting or joining a Youth Task Force can find more details here.

Co-Creating Our ECI Campaign: Strategic Workshop Highlights

On 23 July, the ECIT Foundation brought together a dedicated group of partners, civil society experts, and advisors for a strategic planning workshop ahead of the autumn ECI rollout. This session gave our team a valuable opportunity to present our campaign roadmap, collect crucial feedback, and refine our approach to ensure maximum impact across Europe.

We extend a heartfelt thank you to all our partners for their energetic participation and generous insights. A movement like “All On Board” only succeeds through collective intelligence, and your expertise is instrumental in shaping a truly representative campaign.

Key Takeaways & Priorities:

  • Youth at the Core: A central takeaway from our discussions was that the true strength of this initiative lies in it being youth-driven. We are empowering young people as key advocates and active agents of change, giving them the platform and tools to directly design their own democratic future in the EU.
  • Strengthening Our Evidence Base: Partners emphasized the importance of fortifying our campaign narratives with robust research and data, both generated in-house and shared across our network, to build an undeniable case for outreach and policy advocacy. Several partners expressed strong enthusiasm for diving deeper into specific policy pillars through thematic ECI working groups.
  • Synergy Across Partner Priorities: The workshop highlighted how closely the “All On Board” priorities align with the core missions of our partners around the promotion of democracy, youth participation, and access to opportunities. Partners will actively seek opportunities to integrate ECI signature collection activities into their own upcoming events, conferences, and initiatives.

📣 Call for Action & Collaboration:

We are building our official signature collection calendar for the full campaign year (November 2026 – November 2027). If your organization has planned events, conferences, student gatherings, or activities where we could host a signature drive, run an interactive workshop, or bring in our Youth Task Forces, please reach out to us at info@ecit-foundation.eu!

Connect With Us on Our Channels:

As we prepare for the autumn signature drive, we are expanding our digital footprint to keep everyone updated on campaign milestones and upcoming events. Be sure to explore, follow, and share:

Save the Date: ECIT Summer School 2026

Mark your calendars! On 31 August 2026, ECIT is bringing back its annual Summer School, hosted at the Paul Weiss offices in Brussels. The event will gather policymakers, civil society leaders, educators, and youth advocates to debate the future of EU citizenship and free movement ahead of our campaign launch.

The afternoon will feature interactive workshops and panel debates, culminating in a high-level plenary session where participant recommendations will be presented directly to EU decision-makers. The full programme and speaker line-up will be announced soon.

👉 Secure Your Spot: Space is limited for the in-person sessions, so make sure to register today.

Watchdog Alert: Hands Off Our European Court

When politicians challenge the independence of the judiciary, it often marks a dangerous first step toward autocratic rule. In the EU, public confidence relies on the Court of Justice of the European Union as an independent guarantor against political interference and national overreach.

Alarm bells rang on 15 July during a European Parliament AFCO Committee hearing on a draft report by MEP Charlie Weimers. Framing its critique around institutional balance, the draft report seeks to restrict citizens’ ability to appeal to Luxembourg when national authorities breach their rights. This targets the very legal cornerstone that holds compromised national judiciaries accountable. Undermining this framework risks stripping mobile Europeans of their ultimate shield, turning fundamental rights into empty promises.

As this draft report heads toward committee votes this autumn, MEPs who value European democracy must push back against attempts to weaken our legal protections.

Read the full opinion piece by ECIT Founder Tony Venables HERE.

Beyond the Exchange — Why the Erasmus Generation Needs Real Rights

For millions of young people, stepping off a train in a new city and navigating university life in another language is the defining moment of becoming European. Since 1987, the Erasmus program has evolved far beyond an academic exchange, transforming abstract ideals of European integration into a lived identity for the “Erasmus Generation.”

Yet, feeling European is only half the equation. When mobile youth cross borders to study, live, or work, they quickly encounter real-world friction. This includes navigating complex administrative residency rules and sometimes even the loss of their voting rights. To bridge the gap between lived European identity and practical legal rights, cultural exchange must be paired with robust, accessible political participation in every Member State. Ahead of our autumn campaign launch, Chiara Ravasio issues a direct call to the Erasmus Generation: share your mobility experiences and help us build the “All On Board” movement from the ground up.

Read the full article and share your mobility story HERE.

Fuel the Movement: Support Our Work

ECIT punches far above its weight because we operate with a lean, highly targeted team. We don’t just write reports—we draft formal legal complaints, build cross-border coalitions, and train the next generation of European advocates. To scale our impact and expand our operational reach ahead of a critical autumn, we need your financial backing.

  • For Individuals: Citizen-backed funding is what keeps our campaigns agile. Your contributions via PayPal go straight toward equipping our regional Youth Task Forces with the tools, travel resources, and materials they need to launch the “All On Board” signature drive on the ground.
  • For Funding Organisations: We are currently seeking strategic partners to co-fund our upcoming, definitive EU Disenfranchisement Report, along with targeted national tracking toolkits and digital advocacy campaigns. If protecting the voting rights of mobile citizens aligns with your foundation’s portfolio, reach out to us at info@ecit-foundation.eu to review our project frameworks and explore collaborative opportunities.