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| European Commission Justice and Home Affairs |
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EU citizens may participate in EP and local elections in which ever Member State they happen to be living inIn a democracy, voting is a fundamental right and duty of the citizen. At European Union level, the right to vote and stand as a candidate is guaranteed to the European citizen in local and European Parliament elections in the Member State he/she happens to be living in, even if he/she is not a national and in the same conditions as for nationals of that Member State.
I) Latest developmentsEuropean Elections 2009 The next European Parliament elections shall take place between 4 and 7 June 2009. European Union citizens residing in a Member State of which they are not the nationals have the right to vote and to stand as a candidate in that Member State if they choose so. The table below indicates: a) the deadlines for registering on the electoral rolls of the Member State of residence; b) the polling dates; c) the links to the internet sites, as provided by the Member States, with information for the citizens on the elections.
II) General ContextVoting and standing as candidates in the municipal electionsThe Directive 94/80/EC lays down detailed arrangements for the exercise of the right to vote and stand as a candidate in municipal elections for citizens of the Union residing
in a Member State of which they are not nationals, OJ L 368, 31.12.1994, p. 38. The Directive was adapted by the Act of Accession of ten new Member States in 2003 to add references to basic local government units of the new Member States to the Annex to the Directive - Annex II.2.D to the Act of Accession As far as municipal elections are concerned, EU law treats nationals of EU Member States living in a Member State other than their own as if they are nationals of the Member State in which they live. European citizens have the right to vote and stand as candidates in municipal elections throughout the Union. All the EU Member States have transposed the Directive 94/80/EC governing this area into their national law. As local authorities have a fundamental role to play in developing European Union citizenship, being closest to citizens, this is a major achievement for the European democracy. The Directive 94/80/EC foresees two possible cases for exception to that rule as:
Voting and standing as candidates in the European electionsUnion citizens have the right to participate in elections to the European Parliament in the Member State of residence should this be different from their own Member State. A longer period of residency may be required if more than 20 % of the voting population are non-nationals eligible to vote. However, it is clear that no one may vote more than once in the European Parliament elections. Detailed arrangements for the exercise of the right to vote and stand as a candidate in elections to the European Parliament for citizens of the Union residing in a Member State of which they are not nationals were laid down in Directive 93/109/EC, OJ L 329, 30.12.1993, p34. Elections to the European Parliament are conducted in accordance with principles common to all EU Member States. These were laid down by the Council Decision 2002/772/EC (OJ L 283, 28.10.2002, p. 1-4.) amending the 1976 Act and which took effect on 1 April 2004. The members of the European Parliament are elected by direct universal suffrage. Each Member State decides on the form its election will take, but follows identical democratic rules regarding the voting age of 18, the equality of the sexes and the secrecy of ballot as well as a number of common principles: direct universal suffrage, proportional representation and a five-year renewable term (the next election will take place in June 2009). The seats are, as a general rule, shared out proportionately to the population of each Member State with a maximum 732 members as a whole. Following the "Matthews v. United Kingdom" case (Case C-145/04 Spain v. UK Political parties at European level contribute to forming a European awareness and to expressing the political will of the citizens of the Union (Article 191 of the EC Treaty). Regulation 2004/2003/EC [21] on political parties at European level was adopted in November 2003. It establishes a framework for financing European political parties from the Community budget. |
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(PDF File 528 KB), OJ L 236 of 23.9.2003, p. 334 .