In this context, in 2016, the European Spinocerebellar Ataxia Type 3/Machado‐Joseph Disease Initiative (ESMI)—a consortium of institutions from Germany, the UK, the Netherlands and Portugal originally funded in the framework of the EU Joint Programme Neurodegenerative Diseases (JPND)—was established with the ambition to set up the largest European longitudinal trial‐ready cohort of SCA3/MJD mutation carriers and comparable controls. The gene discussed is ATXN3; the disease is Spinocerebellar ataxia type 3.