WRITTEN QUESTION E-1136/04 by Erik Meijer (GUE/NGL) to the Commission. Restrictions on the right to vote in European elections in Northern Ireland that have so far disenfranchised 16,5 % of the population because of a complicated system of annual individual voter registration.
Date: 2004-04-15
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: European election, Northern Ireland, competence of the Member States, electoral law, registration of voters, right to vote

C 84 E/952

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

3.4.2004

(2004/C 84 E/1051)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1136/04

by Erik Meijer (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(15 April 2004)

Subject: Restrictions on the right to vote in European elections in Northern Ireland that have so far
disenfranchised 16,5 % of the population because of a complicated system of annual individual
voter registration

Is the Commission aware that rules in the United States under which people who are entitled to vote
1.
cannot do so unless they register to vote on various occasions have effectively disenfranchised a large
number of people, primarily those who are on low incomes, less well-educated, or who have a disability or
are less familiar with administrative formalities?

Does the Commission know that the electoral law in Northern Ireland was changed in May 2002 so
2.
that, unlike the rules in other parts of the United Kingdom and the Irish Republic, individual voters are
required to re-register before each election, submitting photographs and national insurance documents,
and that this has resulted in the numbers on the electoral roll dwindling every year?

Does the Commission realise that it is now evident that unless the rules are soon changed soon
3.
211 000 people who are entitled to vote, or 16,5 % of the population of Northern Ireland, will not be able
to take part in the forthcoming European Parliament elections?

Does the Commission not agree that if the new restrictions are aimed at combating fraud this aim
4.
can best be achieved by means of accurate population registers, accurate registration of anyone who is
temporarily deprived of the right to vote as a result of a court judgment, with speedy updating of electoral
registers and an effective system of checks at polling stations, so that anyone who is entitled to vote can
decide whether or not to go to the polls up until the day of the election?

5.
Does the Commission have any means, under the agreements between EU Member States concerning
elections to the European Parliament which have been in force since 1979 or on any other grounds, of
ensuring that restrictions on the right to vote in Northern Ireland will in any case not apply to the next
European elections in June? Is it prepared to use the means at its disposal?

Answer given by Mr Vitorino on behalf of the Commission

(30 April 2004)

Electoral registration is part of electoral procedures, the regulation of which falls under the responsibility
of the Member States. Electoral procedures for national or local elections are thus covered by national
legislation. This is also confirmed regarding elections to the Parliament in Article 8 of the 1976 Act (1) as
amended by Council Decision 2002/772/EC (2) which provides that electoral procedure shall be governed
in each Member State by its national provisions. In conclusion, electoral procedures are not harmonised by
Community law, and the Member States are not obliged to inform the Commission about changes in their
electoral laws.

(1) Act of 20 September 1976 concerning the election of the representatives of the European Parliament by direct

universal suffrage, annexed to Decision 76/787/ECSC, OJ L 278, 8.10.1976.

(2) Council Decision 2002/772/EC, Euratom of 25 June and 23 September 2002 amending the Act concerning the
election of the representatives of the European Parliament by direct universal suffrage, OJ L 283, 21.10.2002.

(2004/C 84 E/1052)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-1151/04

by Elizabeth Lynne (ELDR) to the Commission

Subject: Commissioning medical treatment abroad

(6 April 2004)

Does the Commission regard medical practitioners’ assessments of a patient’s clinical need (and thus the
determination of reasonable waiting time before a patient can seek treatment abroad) to be potentially
compromised by their position in health institutions with limited resources and competing demands on
those resources?