Citizens' summaries

Perhaps you want to know more about European Commission initiatives, but find the information difficult to understand. What you need is a simple, clear explanation of what is being proposed.

The layperson's summaries published on this page are designed to provide just that. They will help you to understand and make up your mind about what is going on, even if you have no specific background knowledge on the subject matter.

These summaries are written in parallel with the ongoing process of adoption to give you information on what is in the pipeline. Therefore, when reading these summaries of Commission proposals please keep in mind that the process is far from finished. Once the Commission has made its proposal, many others at EU and national level will be called upon to have their say, before it affects you as a European citizen. If the summaries are updated later as a result of this process, this will be noted on the page.