Proposal for a Council Directive amending Council Directive 94/80/EC laying down detailed arrangements for the exercise of the right to vote and to stand as a candidate in municipal elections by citizens of the Union residing in a Member State of which they are not nationals
Date: 1996-01-11
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Austria, EU national, Finland, Sweden, local election, right to vote

COMMISSION  OF THE EUROPEAN  COMMUNITIES 

Brussels,  11.01.1996 

COM(95)  499  final 

96/0016  (CNS) 

Proposal  for  a 

COUNCIL  DIRECTIVE 

amending  Council  Directive  94/80/EC1  laying  down  detailed  arrangements  for  the 
exercise of the right to vote and to stand as a candidate  in municipal  elections by citizens 
of the Union residing in a Member State of which they are not nationals. 

(presented  by  the  Commission) 

EXPLANATORY  MEMORANDUM 

I:  Background 
Directive  94/80/EC  laying  down  detailed  arrangements  for  the  exercise  of  the  right  to 
vote and to stand  as a candidate  in municipal  elections by citizens of the Union  residing 
in a Member State of which they are not nationals, introduces local voting rights for non-
national Union residents as from  1st January  1996. 

II:  Enlargement of the Community 

1. General 
The Directive was adopted on  19 December  1994 and therefore  the annex does not  refer 
to the  new  Member  States. An adaptation  to  include  references  to  the  municipalities  in 
the three new Member  States is therefore  necessary,  in particular  as Finland  and Austria 
will hold local elections in the autumn of 1996. 

2. The specific situation of the Aland Islands 
Following  Article  28  of  the  Act  of  Accession,  the  Finnish  Government  deposited, 
together with the instrument of ratification,  a declaration that the EC Treaty will apply to 
the  Aland  islands  under  the  conditions  established  in  Protocol  2  and  in  line  with  the 
corresponding  declaration  n°32  made  by  the  Member  States  and  annexed  to  the  Act  of 
Accession of Austria, Finland and Sweden1. 
The autonomous  region  of the  Aland  Islands  is  currently  governed  by the  1991  Act  on 
the  Autonomy  of  Aland.  The  right  to  vote  and  to  stand  in  municipal  elections  is 
automatically  bestowed  only  on  Finnish  citizens  that  have  right  of  domicile  either  by 
birthright  or  after  five  years  of  residence  in  the  islands  (section  9).  However,  Finnish 
nationals that do not have the right of domicile  as well  as Danish, Icelandic, Norwegian 
and  Swedish  nationals,  have  the  right  to  vote  and  to  stand  in  municipal  elections  after 
three  years  of  residence.  The  same  rights  may  be  given  to  citizens  of  other  countries 
(section 67). 
Since a period of residence, irrespective of nationality,  is required of all those that do not 
have  the  right  of domicile  it can  be  concluded  that  there  is  no  discriminatory  treatment 
incompatible with article 8B (1) of the EC Treaty, between Finnish citizens and other EU 
nationals as regards to the  right  to vote  and  to  stand  in municipal  elections. No  specific 
conditions are therefore  necessary to apply article 8B (1) to the Aland islands. 

Ill: Legal Basis 
Article 8b of the Treaty establishing the European  Community  gives, every citizen of the 
Union residing  in a Member  State of which  he  is not a national, the  right to vote  and to 
stand  as  a  candidate  at  municipal  elections  in  the  Member  State  in  which  he  resides, 
under the same conditions as nationals of that State. 
Article  8b (1) is the legal basis of Directive  94/80/EC. Since the present draft  proposal  is 
an amendment to that Directive it is appropriate that it should have the same legal basis. 

'OJC241  of 29.8.1994 

IV: Comments on individual articles 

1. Article 1 
The level  of local government concerned  is defined  in article 2(1) (a) of the Directive as 
"the  administrative  entities  which,  in  accordance  with  the  laws  of  each  Member  State, 
contain  bodies  elected  by direct  universal  suffrage  and  are empowered  to  administer,  at 
the  basic  level  of  political  and  administrative  organisation,  certain  local  affairs  on  their 
own  responsibility".  In  order  to  enhance  transparency  for  the  citizen,  the  Directive 
contains  an  annex  which  lists, for  every  Member  State  and  in the  appropriate  language 
versions, the local  government  units in which non-national  Union citizens are entitled to 
participate in the elections on the same conditions as national citizens. 

2. Article 2 
Following  the  accession  of  Austria,  Finland  and  Sweden  to  the  European  Community 
and  pursuant  to  the  provisions  of  Article  168  of  the  Treaty  of  Accession,  the  new 
Member  States have the obligation to put  into effect  the measures necessary  for  them to 
comply,  from  the  date  of  accession,  with  the  provisions  of  Directive  94/80/EC  of  19 
December  1994. 

In  order  to  allow  the  new  Member  States  to  bring  into  force  the  laws, regulations  and 
administrative  provisions  necessary  to  comply  with  Directive  94/80/EC  within  its 
prescribed  date  of  1st  January  1996, it  is  necessary  that  the  present  amendment,  which 
merely  lists,  in  the  various  language  versions,  the  "basic  local  government  unit"  as 
defined  in article 2 (1) (a) of the said Directive, came into force as soon as possible. 

Council Directive 

amending  Council  Directive  94/80/EC2  laying  down  detailed  arrangements  for  the 
exercise of the right to vote and to stand as a candidate in municipal elections by citizens 
of the Union residing in a Member State of which they are not nationals. 

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION 

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  establishing  the  European  Community  and  in  particular 
Article 8b (1) thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,3 

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament,4 

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee 5, 

Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions6, 

Whereas  the  annex  to  Directive  94/80/EC,  laying  down  detailed  arrangements  for  the 
exercise of the right to vote and to stand as a candidate in municipal elections by citizens 
of the Union  residing  in a Member  State of which they  are not nationals, lists the  basic 
local government units in each Member State; 

Whereas,  pursuant  to  the  accession  of  Austria,  Sweden  and  Finland,  the  annex  of 
Directive  94/80/EC  should  be  so  amended  as  to  provide  a  reference  to  the  basic  local 
government units in these three countries, 

Whereas,  pursuant  to  the  Act  of  Accession  of  Austria,  Sweden  and  Finland,  Directive 
94/80/EC  is applicable to the Aland  islands, where Finnish citizens who do not have the 
right of domicile and other Union nationals are subject  to the same condition  relating to 
the period  of residence  for the exercise of the right to vote and to stand as candidates in 
municipal elections, 

2 OJLN°368 of 30.12.1994 

3 COM (95) ... 

4OJCN°... 

5O J C N ° . .. 

6O J C N ° . .. 

3 

HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE 

Article 1 

In the annex to Directive 94/80/EC the following paragraphs shall be added: 

In Austria: 

Gemeinden, Bezirke in der Stadt Wien 

In Finland: 

kunta, kommun, kommun pa Aland 

In Sweden: 

Kommuner, Landsting 

Article 2 

This Directive shall enter into force on the day of its publication in the Official  Journal of 
the European Communities. 

This directive is addressed to the Member States. 

Done in Brussels, 

For the Council 

ISSN 0254-1475 

COM(95) 499  final 

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