2.4.0.     Voting rights and eligibility

LEGAL BASIS

— Article 19 (8b) and 189-191 (137-138a) of the EC Treaty (ECT).

— Directive 93/109/EC on elections to the European Parliament.

— Directive 94/80/EC on rights relating to municipal elections.

— Act concerning the election of the representatives of the Assembly by direct universal suffrage, of 20 September 1976.

— Electoral law of the Member States.

OBJECTIVES

1.     Election rights in general

Article 19 (8b) ECT gives all citizens of an EU Member State the right to vote and stand as a candidate in elections to the European Parliament and local elections in the Member State in which they reside — whether they have its nationality or not — in the same conditions as apply to nationals of the country of residence. Such rights are an application of the principle of equality and non-discrimination between Union citizens from the home country and abroad. They supplement the right laid down in Article 18 (8a) ECT to freedom of movement and residence. The main purpose of Article 19 (8b) ECT is to abolish the nationality condition that most Member States had previously attached to exercise of the right to vote or stand as a candidate. Its aim is to improve the integration of Union citizens in their host country.

2.     Rights relating to elections to the European Parliament

Under Article 190 (4) (138(3)) ECT Parliament is responsible for drawing up proposals for elections by direct universal suffrage in accordance with a uniform procedure throughout the Member States, pending which the electoral procedure in each Member States is essentially governed by its national provisions (Article 7(2) of the Act concerning the election of the representatives of the European Parliament by direct universal suffrage).

The development of a uniform electoral procedure for elections to the European Parliament is aimed at strengthening Parliament's political authority, consolidating its democratic legitimacy in the context of the achievement of a genuine European Union and enhancing the awareness of citizens that they belong to a common European society.

ACHIEVEMENTS

1. Rights relating to municipal elections

Directive 94/80/EC on rights relating to municipal elections grants all citizens of the Union the right to vote and to stand as a candidate in municipal elections in the Member State in which they reside, without stipulating this for electoral rights in their State of origin, i.e. the scope for action of the citizens of the Union concerned has been enlarged. In order to protect their own sovereign interests, Member States may stipulate that only their own nationals are eligible to be elected to offices within the executive body of a basic local government unit. Under some national election provisions this participation in executive bodies includes ballots in individual referendums, which are seen as distinct from general elections to the local authority. As far as participation in municipal elections is concerned, all citizens of the Union are basically treated as nationals under this directive. Derogations - i.e. a longer minimum period of residence as a condition for participation in municipal elections - may be invoked by Member States in which the proportion of non-national EC citizens who are eligible to vote and to stand as candidates exceeds 20 % of the total eligible population (this currently applies in Luxembourg), and by Belgium in respect of certain local government units (on account of specific characteristics and the need to maintain balanced relationships between various national population groups). All the Member States have transposed the directive into national law.

2. Elections to the European Parliament

Despite repeated attempts by Parliament, a uniform electoral procedure for the European Parliament has not yet come into being, so that national electoral procedures continue to apply (Article 7(2) of the Act). Proportional representation applies in all the Member States except for Great Britain (it applies in Northern Ireland), where the first-past-the-post system is used. These differences, and the need for unanimity on the part of the Council and for an absolute majority in Parliament for the adoption of such a legal act (second subparagraph of Article 190(4) (138(3)) ECT), explain why there have been difficulties in setting up a uniform electoral procedure. The Treaty of Amsterdam has now amended old Article 138(3) ECT so that it no longer requires a strictly uniform election procedure but merely compliance with ‘principles common to all Member States’. In conjunction with recent political developments in Britain, this improves the prospect of progress towards a uniform system for elections to the European Parliament.

Directive 93/109/EC laying down detailed arrangements for the exercise of the right to vote and to stand as a candidate in elections to the European Parliament gives all citizens of the Union the opportunity to choose whether to participate in elections to Parliament (by voting or by standing as a candidate) in their State of origin or their State of residence within the EU, if these are not the same. Participation in European Parliament elections in the State of residence is also basically governed by the same conditions as apply to nationals of that State. Derogations may be invoked by Member States in which the proportion of resident EU foreigners is substantially above the average (EU foreigners with a share of around 20%). In this case a longer period of residence may be required than for nationals. The directive has now been transposed into national law in all the Member States.

Certain aspects of elections to the European Parliament are regulated in the Act of 20 September 1976, such as the uniform election period, and detailed conditions on the eligibility or otherwise of candidates. The ECT also contains some provisions. Article 190(2) (138(2)), first sentence lays down the allocation of Parliament seats to the Member States. Under the second sentence of Article 190(2) (138(2)), if this provision is amended — for instance, in a treaty on the accession of further Member States to the EU — the number of representatives elected in each Member State must ensure appropriate representation of the peoples of the States brought together in the Community. And under Article 189 (137), second paragraph, the total number of Parliament seats may not exceed 700.

ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

1. Rights relating to municipal elections

Parliament has adopted resolutions expressing its regret that it only has the right to be consulted, and has no power of codecision, concerning the legal acts to be adopted pursuant to Article 19 (8b(2)) ECT, which after all affect it directly. This has remained the case after the Amsterdam Treaty. In its resolutions on the draft directive on rights relating to municipal elections Parliament endeavoured to keep to a minimum the permitted exceptions to the rule of equal treatment with nationals regarding the right to vote and to stand as a candidate.

2. Elections to the European Parliament

Parliament has long called for a uniform system for elections to the European Parliament, to take the place of the national electoral laws for such elections. The purpose of devising a uniform election procedure is to strengthen Parliament's political authority, consolidate its democratic legitimacy with regard to the creation of a genuine European Union and strengthen citizens' sense of belonging to a common European society.

In July 1998 Parliament accordingly submitted to the Council, under Article 190(4) (138(3)) ECT, a draft uniform procedure for elections to the European Parliament. When the Treaty of Amsterdam amended the old Article 138(3) - now Article 190(4) - ECT and following recent political developments in the UK concerning the first-past-the-post system now only in use in Britain, after 40 years the road to a uniform procedure would seem to be open. From the year 2004 the Member States are to set up constituencies for closer contact between MEPs and the voters, though without affecting the principle of proportional representation, since the Members elected in this way remain representatives of the people as a whole, and not just of their constituency. Minimum threshold clauses are permissible only up to 5% of the votes cast. From the year 2009, it is proposed that 10% of Parliament's total seats should be allocated in a single Community-wide constituency. Concurrent membership of a national parliament and the European Parliament will cease to be possible. After adoption by Parliament, the draft must be adopted unanimously by the Council and ratified by the Member States, in accordance with Article 190(4) (138(4)).

16/10/2000