As a

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...

proposal, the European Foundation Statute was a legal framework for non-profit

foundation Foundation may refer to: * Foundation (nonprofit), a type of charitable organization ** Foundation (United States law), a type of charitable organization in the U.S. ** Private foundation, a charitable organization that, while serving a good cause ...

s, which would have been additional and complementary to existing national legislations in constituent States. The European Foundation would have been legally recognised in all European Union member states, and would have operated under the same set of conditions across the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

Purpose

Proponents of a European Foundation statute pointed out that foundations and their funders are increasingly working across borders, but that a number of legal and administrative barriers are hampering new foundation initiatives in Europe and the current work of existing foundations. The statute was proposed to offer an appropriate legal tool to perform and increase foundations work and operations across Europe, while reducing costly administrative burden.

Status

On 8 February 2012, the

presented a proposal on a European Foundation Statute. This proposal has been shared with the

Council of Ministers A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/ shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or nati ...

representing the governments of the 27 member states for review and approval, as well as to the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...

for its consent. The European Parliament pledged support to European statutes for foundations, as well as associations and mutual societies, with the signatures by a majority of its members of a written declaration in February 2011. The

European Economic and Social Committee The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) is a consultative body of the European Union (EU) established in 1958. It is an advisory assembly composed of "social partners", namely: employers ( employers' organisations), employees (trade ...

(EESC), the EU's official advisory body on social and economic matters, passed an opinion backing the statute, drafted by Mall Hellam, by a large majority on 28 April 2010. The campaign to implement the European Foundation Statute was led by the European Foundation Centre and the Donors and Foundations Networks in Europe (DAFNE). In January 2015, the Commission confirmed its withdrawal of the legislative proposal for the European Foundation Statute in its 2015 work programme following its failure to pass through COREPER 1.

References

External links

European Foundation CentreIt's time for a European Foundation Statute (2011)European Commission’s press release about the Statute Regulation IP/12/112

European Commission pages on the Statute
European Commission projects {{business-org-stub