Document type: press Document type: issued by The Good Lobby on March 5, 2026
Author: Giufrè
Excerpt in French (translation): Court hearing puts EU participatory democracy in the dock in the “End the Cage Age” case
The public hearing held today before the Court of Justice of the European Union provided a rare opportunity for more than 1.5 million citizens to ask the Court to hold the European Commission accountable for failing to act on their request to ban cages in animal farming. The case concerns the European Citizens’ Initiative “End the Cage Age,” which gathered more than 1.4 million signatures across the EU and secured a formal commitment from the Commission in 2021 to propose legislation to phase out cages in animal farming by the end of 2023. That deadline has passed—followed by 2024, then 2026—without any legislative proposal having been presented. During the hearing, a panel of five judges questioned the animal welfare organizations involved in the case and pressed Commission representatives to explain why the Commission had not provided a specific timeline for implementing its commitment. The Good Lobby’s legal team was present in Luxembourg, representing Eurogroup for Animals as an intervening party in support of the citizens’ cause. “The European Citizens’ Initiative was designed to give ordinary citizens a voice in EU law,” said Professor Alberto Alemanno, founder of The Good Lobby. “End the Cage Age is the only initiative in history to have secured a full commitment from the Commission. And yet, here we are before the Court of Justice because that commitment was not honored. If this case fails, future citizens will rightly ask: what’s the point?” A ruling against the Commission would not only benefit the hundreds of millions of animals still raised in cages across Europe. It could also set a crucial precedent confirming that the EU’s participatory democracy has legal consequences—and that citizens who mobilize through the European Citizens’ Initiative cannot simply be ignored when their demands become politically inconvenient. The Court’s decision is expected in the coming months. (…)
Preview: Today’s public hearing before the Court of Justice of the European Union offered a rare opportunity for over 1.5 million citizens to ask the Court to hold the European Commission accountable for failing to follow up on their demand to ban cages in animal farming. The case concerns the End the Cage Age European Citizens’ Initiative, which gathered more than 1.4 million signatures across the EU and in 2021 secured a formal commitment from the Commission to propose legislation to phase out cages in animal farming by the end of 2023. That deadline passed – followed by 2024, and now 2026 – without any legislative proposal. At the hearing, a five-judge chamber questioned the animal welfare organisations involved in the case and pressed the Commission’s representatives on why it has not provided a clear timeline for delivering on its commitment. The Good Lobby’s legal team was present in Luxembourg, representing Eurogroup for Animals as a third-party intervener in support of the citizens’ case. “The European Citizens’ Initiative was designed to give ordinary people a voice in EU law,” said Professor Alberto Alemanno, founder of The Good Lobby. “End the Cage Age is the only initiative in history to secure a full Commission commitment. And yet here we are, before the Court of Justice, because that commitment was broken. If this case fails, future citizens will rightly ask: why bother?” A ruling against the Commission would not only benefit the hundreds of millions of animals still kept in cages across Europe. It could also set a critical precedent confirming that EU participatory democracy has legal consequences – and that citizens who mobilise through the European Citizens’ Initiative cannot simply be ignored when their demands become politically inconvenient. The Court’s ruling is expected in the coming months. (…)
