WRITTEN QUESTION E-2556/03 by Robert Evans (PSE) to the Commission. Voting in Mallorcan elections.
Date: 2003-08-04
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Balearic Islands, EU national, application of EU law, local election, organisation of elections, right to vote

C 78 E/126

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

27.3.2004

consultation involving all Member States will take place on 29 September 2003, after which the direction
to be taken should be clear.

The report containing, as foreseen in the Directive, an evaluation of tobacco products that may have the
potential to reduce harm is due by the end of 2004.

(1) Directive 2001/37/EC of the Parliament and of the Council of 5 June 2001 on the approximation of the laws,
regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States concerning the manufacture, presentation and sale
of tobacco products (cid:1) Commission statement, OJ L 194, 18.7.2001.

(2004/C 78 E/0128)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2556/03

by Robert Evans (PSE) to the Commission

(4 August 2003)

Subject: Voting in Mallorcan elections

On 12 March 2003 the European Parliament’s President was asked to urgently investigate complaints that
non-Spanish EU citizens were unable to register to vote in the Mallorca municipal elections that were to
take place in May 2003.

I have subsequently been approached by British citizens who believed they had registered but when they
arrived on the day of the elections, were told they had not been registered and were therefore not entitled
to vote.

As it is a fundamental right of all EU citizens to vote in local and European elections in the country of
residence, does the Commission agree that this inability to vote is a denial of those rights? Will the
Commission investigate this disenfranchisement?

Answer given by Mr Vitorino on behalf of the Commission

(16 September 2003)

The Honourable Member draws the attention to the fundamental right of citizens of the Union to vote in
municipal elections in their Member State of residence, even when they are not nationals of that State. This
right is guaranteed by Article 19 of the EC Treaty and the detailed arrangements for the exercise of the
right were laid down by Council Directive 94/80/EC (1).

Spain has transposed Directive 94/80/EC by Ley orgánica 1/1997. The Commission has received the
following information concerning the practice for entering citizens of the Union to electoral rolls from the
Spanish Authorities: Voters must register in their local municipal population register. This is compulsory
for all persons residing in Spain, whether Spanish or not, and these registers are used as the basis for the
national electoral roll.

Oficina del Censo Electoral (the Electoral Roll Office) keeps a constantly updated register of voters who are
non-national Union citizens, reflecting any changes to municipal population registers involving the latter.
It receives the personal details of voters from local population registers.

The Spanish law provides that non-national Union citizens residing in Spain must indicate their wish to
vote in municipal elections, when voting for the first time. To comply with this requirement, the Electoral
Roll Office sends a reminder to all non-national Union voters three months before the elections take place,
to indicate whether or not they wish to vote. The appropriate form is attached, with instructions in all
Community languages and a pre-paid envelope is provided for the reply. The forms are also available at all
Spanish local authority headquarters six months before the elections. As regards those Union citizens who
are already entered into electoral rolls, the letter functions as a reminder about the forthcoming elections.

27.3.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 78 E/127

Finally, provisional lists of Union citizens having right to vote are drawn up on the basis of affirmative
responses. These lists are displayed in local authority offices for eight days, from the 6th day after the
election is called. Appeals may be made during this period and the names of those obtaining a favourable
outcome are incorporated to the final list.

The Commission considers that the system of entering Union citizens into electoral rolls in Spain is in
compliance with Directive 94/80/EC.

The Commission has not received any complaints that the registration system would not have functioned
in the context of the last local elections in Spain, held in May 2003. The Commission strives for
guaranteeing that the Member States comply with Community law, including fundamental rights, but the
information included in the question is not sufficiently detailed to enable the Commission to take further
measures.

(1) Council Directive 94/80/EC of 19 December 1994 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, OJ L 368, 31.12.1994.

(2004/C 78 E/0129)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2565/03

by Hiltrud Breyer (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(6 August 2003)

Subject: Residues of hormones, antibiotics and phthalic acid esters in drinking water

Drinking water obtained from surface water may contain residues of antibiotics and hormones. In addition,
phthalic acid esters may be passed into drinking water from the pipe system.

1.

2.

Does the Commission have measurements of the above from the Member States?

Does the Commission plan to introduce limit values for the above?

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(6 October 2003)

In the frame of the current Council Directive 80/778/EEC of 15 July 1980 on the quality of water
intended for human consumption (1), the substances mentioned by the Honourable Member are neither
currently regulated nor monitored.

On the basis of the available information, the exact concentrations of endocrine disrupting compounds
(EDCs) in drinking water and thus the quantities consumed are currently unknown for all the European
countries.

In order to have more information about this issue, the Commission launched a study on endocrine
disrupters in drinking water. The aim of this study was to provide information on the exposure to
endocrine disrupters through water intended for human consumption, using existing data from the various
Member States and published studies, and to design and execute a case study to produce a more complete
the actual occurrence of endocrine disrupters and the potential exposure of humans to
picture of
endocrine disrupters through drinking water.

The following EDCs were selected as relevant for drinking water from an assessment of the published
literature and a survey of the waterworks of several European countries: synthetic and natural estrogens,
alkylphenol, alkylphenol ethoxylates, alkylphenoxy acetic acids, Bisphenol A and organotin compounds.