WRITTEN QUESTION E-1047/96 by José Barros Moura (PSE) to the Commission (13 May 1996)

Subject: Right to vote in local elections in Luxembourg

Article 1 of the Luxembourg law of 28 December 1995 uses the derogation provided for in Article 12(a) of Council Directive 94/80/EC ((OJ L 368, 31.12.1994, p.38. ))requiring a minimum of six years' residence and domicile in the last seven years. This law came into force on 1 January 1996, and Article 5 (indent 4) thereof lays down that any request to be entered in the electoral roll must be submitted 'avant le 1er avril de l'année en cours'. Finally, the electoral census law lays down that elections are to be held on the basis of the electoral rolls revised during the year prior to the elections.

Taking these regulations in conjunction with the six years of residence which have to have elapsed before the voter can be put on the electoral roll on 1 April, it would be necessary to add the whole period up until the elections of the following year.

Taking into account that the Luxembourg local elections are scheduled to take place in September 1999, the six years in question would in fact be seven and a half!

The derogation provided for under Article 12(a) of the Directive fixes a maximum period for prior residence which the Member State in question is entitled to demand ('minimum period which may not be longer'). The Luxembourgish law, or its interpretation, therefore needs to be made compatible with the Directive.

I would therefore ask what interpretation or assessment should be made of the Luxembourgish law, bearing in mind that it can not violate the Directive which, moreover, forbids the Member States to adopt measures which are not 'adequate, necessary or proportional' to the objectives pursued, or are contrary to the Treaty and the general principles of law (Article 5(3))?

What measures is the Council going to take to prevent what would be a serious violation of the EU Treaty and a practical denegation of European citizenship and yet another case of discrimination exacerbating the exceptional arrangements already in force for Luxembourg?

Answer given by Mr Monti on behalf of the Commission (2 July 1996)

Article 12(1) of Directive 94/80/EEC addresses the special case of Member States where the proportion of Union citizens residing in them without having their nationality exceeds 20% of the total population. It enables such a State to attach minimum residence conditions additional to those required of its nationals to the right to vote and the right to stand as a candidate of citizens of the Union.

It can be seen from Articles 2, 3 and 12 taken together that those conditions must be met on a day known as the reference date. This is laid down in national law and is the day on which Union citizens and the nationals of the Member State in question must meet the necessary conditions for the exercise of their rights; it coincides with the date by which the electoral rolls must be updated.

In Luxembourg, the electoral rolls are updated on 1 April each year. On that date, Luxembourg nationals, like the Union citizens residing in that Member State, must meet the conditions required in order to vote there or stand as a candidate. Consequently, the Commission takes the view that, in Luxembourg law, there is no discriminatory treatment with regard to the conditions for entry on the electoral roll.