Proposal for a Council Directive amending Directive 93/109/EC of 6 December 1993 as regards certain detailed arrangements for the exercise of the right to vote and stand as a candidate in elections to the European Parliament for citizens of the Union residing in a Member State of which they are not nationals
Date: 2006-12-12
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU national, European Parliament, European Union, European election, right to stand for election, right to vote

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 12.12.2006 
COM(2006) 791 final 

2006/0277 (CNS) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 

amending Directive 93/109/EC of 6 December 1993 as regards certain detailed 
arrangements for the exercise of the right to vote and stand as a candidate in elections to 
the European Parliament for citizens of the Union residing in a Member State of which 
they are not nationals 

(presented by the Commission) 

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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

1. 

CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL 

1.1. 

Grounds for and objectives of the proposal 

According  to  EU  citizenship  rights  enshrined  in  the  EC  Treaty  every  citizen  of  the  Union 
residing in a Member State of which he is not a national has the right to vote and to stand as a 
candidate  to  the  European  Parliament  in  the  Member  State  in  which  he  resides,  under  the 
same  conditions  as  nationals  of  that  State.  The  principles  for  voting  and  standing  as  a 
candidate in a Member State of which an EU citizen is not a national are set out in Directive 
93/109/EC1. Voting is a fundamental right and duty of the citizen; however, no one may vote 
more than once in an EP election or stand as a candidate in two countries in the same election 
(Article 4).  

Directive  93/109/EC  establishes  two  means  to  prevent  people  from  voting  or  standing  as  a 
candidate in more than one Member State in the same elections. First, that EU non-nationals 
must provide a formal declaration that he/she will exercise the right to vote or to stand as a 
candidate in their Member State of residence only (Articles 9 and 10). Second, that Member 
States  are  obliged  to  exchange  information  on  nationals  of  other  Member  States  who  have 
been entered on electoral rolls or have stood as a candidate. On the basis of the information 
sent  by  the  Member  State  of  residence  to  the  home  Member  State,  the  latter  must  take 
appropriate action to ensure that their nationals do not vote or stand as a candidate in more 
than one Member State (Article 13). To this end, an information exchange system between the 
Member States was set up. The Commission and the Member States have informally agreed 
on practical details for the exchange of information within the system; however, there is no 
legal  obligation  for  the  Member  States  to  follow  them.  Several  meetings  were  arranged 
between the Commission and the Member States to improve its operability and effectiveness. 
Despite these efforts, the system is too administratively burdensome for Member States and 
lacking  operability  and  effectiveness,  mainly  because  of  the  non-harmonised  national 
legislations in electoral matters. 

The Directive stipulates that citizens of the European Union who have been deprived of the 
right to stand as a candidate under either the law of the Member States of residence or the law 
of their home Member state, shall be precluded from exercising that right in the Member State 
of  residence  in  elections  to  the  European  Parliament  (Article  6.1).  EU  citizens  who  wish  to 
stand as a candidate in EP elections in their country of residence instead of in their country of 
origin  are  obliged,  under  the  Directive,  to  certify  with  an  attestation  delivered  by  the 
competent authorities in the Member State of origin, that they are not deprived of the right to 
stand  as  a  candidate  in  that  Member  State  (Article  10.2).  An  application  form  is  declared 
inadmissible  where  that  citizen  is  unable  to  provide  this  attestation  (Article  6.2).  This 
obligation results in a heavy administrative burden on EU non-nationals wishing to stand as a 
candidate in the Member State of residence and might be one reason for the low participation 
rate of these citizens. 

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Council  Directive  93/109/EC  laying  down  detailed  arrangements  for  the  exercise  of  the  right  to  vote 
and stand as a candidate in elections to the European Parliament for citizens of the Union residing in a 
Member State of which they are not national. 

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To facilitate the exercise of the electoral rights of EU citizens and thus to favour an increased 
participation, the Commission suggests several amendments to the Directive. 

In order to remedy the deficiencies of the current mechanism on how to prevent double vote 
and double candidature, the objectives of this proposal are, first, to replace the obligation of 
the exchange of information by less burdensome measures, whilst introducing the necessary 
guaranties and deterrents.  

Secondly,  the  objective  is  to  abolish  the  obligation  for  EU  citizens  who  wish  to  stand  as  a 
candidate  in  the  Member  State  of  residence  to  provide  the  attestation  that  they  are  not 
deprived of the right to stand as a candidate, and to replace it with a reference to that effect to 
be  introduced  in  the  formal  declaration  that  candidates  must  submit  under  current  Article 
10.1. 

1.2. 

Identified problems 

1.2.1. 

Information exchange system  

The main drawbacks are:  

–  In the framework of the current information exchange system, insufficient information is 
received by Member States of origin to be able to identify the individuals on their national 
registers and, thus, to take the necessary actions with a view to preventing double vote and 
double candidature;  

–  Through lack of a common deadline for sending information, data is received too late to be 

processed;  

–  The formats in which information is transferred vary (e.g. paper form, diskettes, CD-ROM 

are each used) which prevents automatic processing; 

–  Problems with transliteration of names in cases where the Member State of origin uses a 

different alphabet than the Member State of residence; 

–  Flaws of  the system have led to citizens  being deprived of their right to vote both in the 

Member State of residence and of origin.  

Most  of  these  problems  originate  in  differences  between  Member  States'  non-harmonised 
electoral  systems  and  how  national  registers  are  processed  in  the  Member  States  and  what 
information is included on the registers.  

The propensity for mistakes increased disproportionately with the increased movement of EU 
citizens  within  the  Union  and  with  the  increased  number  of  exchanges  that  took  place 
following enlargements of the EU intervened after adoption of the Directive in 1993. The next 
Enlargement of the EU to 27 Member States will accentuate this trend. 

1.2.2.  Attestation to stand as candidate 

As regards rules that apply for EU citizens who wish to stand as a candidate in EP elections in 
their country of residence, the current obligation to provide an attestation has proved to have a 
negative  influence  in  the  participation  of  these  citizens.  Problems  were  identified  related  to 

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the  delivery  in  due  time  of  such  an  attestation.  In  some  Member  States  it  is  not  clearly 
identified or regulated what national authority is competent for its delivery. 

1.3. 

Existing provisions in the area of the proposal 

Article 19.2 of the EC Treaty and Directive 93/109/EC. 

1.4. 

Consistency with the other policies and objectives of the Union 

This proposal aims to facilitate the exercise by the EU citizens of their electoral rights, which 
are a key element of the rights attached to citizenship of the European Union and a corollary 
of their right to free movement.  

2. 

CONSULTATION OF INTERESTED PARTIES AND IMPACT ASSESSMENT 

2.1. 

Consultation of interested parties 

Consultation methods, main sectors targeted and general profile of respondents 

Several  meetings  were  held  with  Member  States'  electoral  experts.  The  Commission  also 
invited  Member  States  to  provide  statistical  and  qualitative  information  on  the  elections  of 
June 2004 and on the implementation of the Directive.  

Summary of responses and how they have been taken into account 

Almost all Member States concluded that the operability of the information exchange system 
is deficient and its effectiveness is impeded by a number of difficulties.  

This proposal takes into account the responses formulated by the vast majority of the Member 
States  by  suggesting  to  delete  the  obligation  of  the  Member  States  to  exchange  information 
previous to the elections. 

The  criticism,  formulated  in  some  Member  States,  of  the  heavy  administrative  burden  that 
candidates have to face when submitting an application to stand as a candidate is also taken 
into account in this proposal.  

Interviews  that  have  been  undertaken  with  EU  non-national  candidates  in  the  framework  of 
the impact assessment confirm that there are problems in relation to contacting and receiving 
the  relevant  attestation  from  the  competent  authority  in  their  country  of  origin.  It  can  be 
difficult  for  EU  non-national  candidates  to  obtain  in  due  time  the  attestation  that  they  are 
eligible to stand as a candidate in their country of origin. 

2.2. 

Collection and use of expertise 

Information for the impact assessment was gathered by an external consultant under a contract 
signed with GHK Consulting Ltd as a result of a call for proposal. 

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2.3. 

Impact assessment 

2.3.1. 

Information exchange system  

It  is  not  possible  to  correctly  establish  how  effective  the  current  system  of  exchange  of 
information  has  been  in  terms  of  preventing  people  from  voting  or  standing  twice  as  the 
system does not directly generate information on the amount of double voting that takes place. 
In  surveys  amongst  Member  States  it  has  however  been  indicated  that  there  is  very  little 
evidence that double voting occurs in EP elections. 

Amongst several options elaborated in the framework of the Impact assessment, the following 
were considered to be the most appropriate for dealing with double vote: 

2.3.1.1.  Status quo 

Maintaining  the  current  exchange  of  information  would  perpetuate  the  existing 
deficiencies. Flaws in the system would continue to result in citizens being deprived 
of their right to vote both in the Member State of residence and of origin.  

2.3.1.2.  Abolishing the current information exchange system, but maintaining the declaration 
by EU non-national citizens not to vote or to stand as a candidate twice; introducing 
the obligation for Member States to impose appropriate penalties for double vote and 
double candidature and raising awareness about these penalties; introducing ex post 
checks  undertaken  by  the  Member  States  on  the  occurrence  of  double  vote  and 
double candidature. 

The deterrent to double voting would be reinforced as EU citizens would be aware 
that  they  are  committing  an  offence  by  voting  twice  in  the  same  election.  An 
additional benefit of introducing ex post checks would be the possibility to assess the 
extent  of  double  voting  and  double  candidature,  which  is  currently  not  foreseen 
under the Directive. 

2.3.1.3.  Improvements  to  the  current  information  exchange  system:  adapting  the  format  for 
information  to  be  exchanged  so  that  it  allows  all  Member  States  to  have  all  the 
information  needed  to  identify  their  nationals;  establishing  a  single,  harmonised 
deadline  for  exchanging  information;  establishing  that  all  information  need  to  be 
transferred  electronically  by  one  specific  means;  introducing  the  use  of  the  Greek 
and Cyrillic alphabets; Member States would need to duly inform citizens that they 
have been deleted from an electoral roll. 

The  system  would  have  to  be  implemented  by  the  Member  States  probably  on  the 
basis of a decision of the Commission adopted under a comitology procedure. 

2.3.1.4.  Developing an EP electoral roll: this policy option would involve all electoral rolls 
of  the  Member  States  for  EP  elections  being  integrated  into  one  common  EP 
electoral  roll  for  all  Member  States.  A  sub  option  to  this  would  involve  a  full 
harmonisation  of  methods  on  how  national  registers  are  processed  and  what 
information is included on the registers; the information on the electoral roll would 
be shared between the Member States. 

This policy option would necessitate the harmonisation of national electoral systems 
which  would  be  disproportionate  to  the  extent  of  the  problem.  This  would  also 

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require changes to the 1976 Act on EP elections (annexed to Decision 76/787/ECSC, 
EEE,  Euratom)  which  leaves  this  aspect  of  the  electoral  arrangements  up  to  the 
Member States. 

On  the  basis  of  the  assessment  and  comparison  of  the  policy  options,  the  most 
appropriate to solve the deficiencies described and to tackle the issue of double vote 
and double candidature is the second option in the list above. 

2.3.2.  Attestation to stand as candidate 

As  regards  problems  posed  by  the  requirement  for  candidates  to  provide  the  attestation  that 
they are not deprived of the right to stand as a candidate, amongst several options elaborated, 
the following were considered to be the most appropriate: 

2.3.2.1.  Status quo 

It can be difficult for EU non-national candidates to obtain in due time the attestation 
that  they  are  not  deprived  of  the  right  to  stand  as  a  candidate  in  their  country  of 
origin. This obligation, as shown in the impact assessment, discourages participation. 

2.3.2.2.  Abolishing  the  obligation  of  candidates  to  present  the  attestation  that  they  are  not 
deprived of the right to stand as a candidate and to replace it with the inclusion of a 
mention to that effect into the formal declaration that candidates must submit under 
current Article 10.1. 

This  option  would  also  include  the  introduction  of  the  obligation  for  the  Member 
State  to  check  that  the  citizen  concerned  has  not  been  deprived  of  his/her  right  to 
stand as a candidate.  

On  the  basis  of  the  assessment  and  comparison  of  the  policy  options,  the  most  appropriate 
solution  to  this  problem  would  be  the  second  option  in  the  list  above,  since  obstacles  for 
potential candidates would be largely reduced but would nevertheless require Member States 
to check accuracy of the declarations. 

3. 

LEGAL ELEMENTS OF THE PROPOSAL 

3.1. 

Summary of the proposed action 

3.1.1. 

Information exchange system  

As  regards  the  obligation  to  exchange  information  fixed  in  the  Directive  the  Commission 
proposes to abolish it while maintaining the formal declaration of EU non-nationals that they 
will  exercise  the  right  to  vote  or  stand  as  a  candidate  in  one  Member  State  only.  The 
obligation  of  such  a  declaration  is,  in  itself,  a  deterrent  to  voting  or  standing  twice  as  a 
candidate.  Article  2.9  defines  the  'formal  declaration'  as  'a  declaration  by  the  person 
concerned, inaccuracy in which makes that person liable to penalties, in accordance with the 
national  law  applicable'.  However,  the  dissuasive  effect  is  limited  because  this  provision 
refers back to national law on penalties. 

Therefore,  in  order  to  reinforce  the  deterrent  to  voting  or  standing  twice,  the  Commission 
proposes to introduce a new provision laying down explicitly the obligation for the Member 

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States to apply effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties for inaccuracy in declarations 
produced  under  the  Directive  resulting  in  a  violation  of  obligations  posed  therein. 
Furthermore,  these  penalties  which  should  be  at  least  equivalent  to  those  applicable  under 
relevant  national  measures,  will  be  the  subject  of  information  measures  by  Member  States, 
which they are currently obliged to undertake under Article 12. 

The  Commission  also  proposes  to  present  a  report,  based  on  information  received  from  the 
Member  States,  on  the  occurrence  of  double  vote  and  double  candidature  after  the  first 
application  of  the  amended  Directive  which  would  be  a  necessary  and  useful  means  to 
identify possible cases of double vote and double candidature in order to assess the extent of 
instances of such attempts. The Commission suggests that Member States undertake ex post 
checks in situations where there is a likelihood of double vote. 

3.1.2.  Attestation to stand as candidate 

As  regards  problems  posed  by  the  requirement  for  candidates  to  provide  the  attestation,  the 
Commission proposes the abolition of the obligation for candidates to present the attestation 
that they have not been deprived of the right to stand as a candidate (Articles 6.2 and 10.2) 
and to replace it with the inclusion of a mention to that effect into the formal declaration that 
candidates must submit under current Article 10.1. It also proposes to introduce the obligation 
for the Member State of residence to check with the Member States of origin that the citizen 
concerned has not been deprived of his/her right to stand as a candidate by the notification of 
his/her declaration to the Member State of origin. 

The  above  mentioned  new  provision  laying  down  the  obligation  for  the  Member  States  to 
apply  penalties  for  inaccuracy  in  formal  declarations  will  apply  also  to  the  declaration  by 
candidates that they are not deprived of the right to stand as a candidate. 

In order to guarantee to EU-non nationals the exercise of their electoral rights in accordance 
with the amended Directive in the next elections of June 2009, the Commission proposes that 
Member States bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary 
to comply with the amended Directive by 30 June 2008 at the latest.  

3.2. 

Legal basis 

Article 19.2 of the EC Treaty. 

3.3. 

Subsidiarity principle 

Due  to  the  transnational  nature  of  the  problem,  the  difficulties  identified  in  the 
implementation of the Directive can only be solved by an amendment to it. 

3.4. 

Proportionality principle 

The  proposal  does  not  go  beyond  what  is  necessary  to  achieve  its  objectives.  Its  provisions 
have  been  targeted  and  limited  to  the  identified  problems  in  the  implementation  of  the 
Directive. 

The suggested proposals do not imply harmonisation and will remove the existing burden of 
administrative procedures. 

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3.5. 

Choice of instruments 

A Directive, given that the objective is to amend an existing Directive. 

The  scope  of  the  proposal  is  limited  to  amendments  to  specific  elements  of  Directive 
93/109/EC. 

4. 

BUDGETARY IMPLICATION 

The proposal has no implication for the Community budget. 

5. 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION 

5.1. 

Simplification 

The  proposal  provides  for  simplification  of  administrative  procedures  for  public  authorities 
(EU and national). 

No  more  meetings  with  the  Commission  and  Member  States  on  the  implementation  of  the 
information exchange system will be needed. 

Abolishing  the  obligation  of  the  Member  States  to  exchange  information  would  simplify 
administrative procedures and save the national administrations the costs related to this work. 

The introduction of a mention of not being deprived of the right to stand as a candidate in the 
formal  declaration  that  potential  candidates  must  already  provide  would  be  much  less 
burdensome than the current obligation to provide a separate attestation to that effect. 

5.2. 

The proposal includes a revision clause. 

5.3. 

Correlation table 

The  Member  States  are  required  to  communicate  to  the  Commission  the  text  of  national 
provisions  transposing  the  Directive  as  well  as  a  correlation  table  between  those  provisions 
and this Directive. 

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2006/0277 (CNS) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 

amending Directive 93/109/EC of 6 December 1993 as regards certain detailed 
arrangements for the exercise of the right to vote and stand as a candidate in elections to 
the European Parliament for 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 
19(2) thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission2, 

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament3, 

Whereas:  

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

The Commission report on the application to the 2004 elections of Council Directive 
93/109/EC laying down detailed arrangements for the exercise of the right to vote and 
stand as a candidate in elections to the European Parliament for citizens of the Union 
residing  in  a  Member  State  of  which  they  are  not  nationals4  revealed  the  need  to 
amend certain provisions of the Directive. 

The Directive provides that no person may vote more than once or stand as a candidate 
in more than one Member State at the same election.  

The Directive further provides that any citizen of the Union who has been deprived of 
his right to stand as a candidate under either the law of the Member State of residence 
or the law of his home Member State, shall be precluded from exercising that right in 
the  Member  State  of  residence.  To  that  end,  the  Directive  requires  a  Community 
national,  when  submitting  his  application,  to  produce  an  attestation  from  the 
competent administrative authorities of his home Member State certifying that he has 
not been deprived of the right to stand as a candidate in that Member State or that no 
such disqualification is known to those authorities. 

(4) 

The difficulties encountered by candidates in identifying the authorities empowered to 
issue this attestation and in obtaining it in good time act as a barrier to the exercise of 
the  right  to  stand  as  a  candidate  and  contribute  to  the  low  number  of  Community 

2 
3 
4 

OJ C […], […], p. […]. 
OJ C […], […], p. […]. 
OJ L 329, 30.12.1993, p. 34. 

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nationals standing as candidates at elections to the European Parliament in their host 
Member State. 

The  requirement  for  candidates  to  submit  this  attestation  should  accordingly  be 
abolished  and  replaced  by  an  item  to  that  effect  in  the  formal  declaration  that 
candidates must produce.  

Host Member States should be placed under an obligation to notify the home Member 
State  of  this  declaration  in  order  to  ensure  that  the  Community  candidate  was  not 
actually deprived of this right in the Member State of origin. 

(5) 

(6) 

(7)  Member States have informed the Commission of the difficulties that they encounter 
in the pre-election exchange of information on nationals entered on the electoral rolls 
or  having  stood  as  candidates  in  the  Member  State  of  residence  enabling  the  home 
Member  State  to  take  measures  to  ensure  that  its  nationals  do  not  vote  or  stand  as 
candidates twice. Given the differences between national systems, the list of the data 
collected  with  a  view  to  entering  Community  voters  on  national  lists  varies  widely 
from  one  Member  State  to  another;  as  a  result,  the  data  transmitted  by  the  host 
Member State may be found inadequate to identify the Community voter or candidate 
in the home Member State; similarly, as there is no uniform date for closing national 
electoral  rolls,  the  data  are  often  transferred  on  a  date  when  measures  to  ensure  that 
nobody  votes  or  stands  as  a  candidate  twice  can  no  longer  be  taken  in  the  home 
Member State; lastly, since the Member States do not all use the same alphabet, it is 
not possible to exchange information when the information sent by the host Member 
State is in a different alphabet from the one used in the Member State of origin. 

(8) 

(9) 

These  difficulties,  which 
the 
information-exchange  arrangements,  could  be  overcome  only  by  harmonising  of  the 
rules  on  entry  in  the  national  electoral  rolls,  which  would  be  disproportionate  in 
relation to the objective pursued. 

the  operability  and  efficiency  of 

jeopardise 

The  exchange  of  information  should  accordingly  be  abolished  but  the  obligation  for 
the voter or candidate to produce a declaration undertaking to exercise his right to vote 
or to stand as a candidate only in the Member State of residence should be maintained. 

(10)  Moreover, as a deterrent to voting or standing as a candidate twice and to exercising 
the  right  to  vote  or  stand  despite  being  deprived  of  these  rights,  Member  States  of 
residence  should  take  measures  to  ensure  that  violations  of  the  obligations  provided 
for by the Directive are subject to proper penalties.  

(11) 

In the report that it is required to prepare on the application of the amended Directive 
to the elections to the European Parliament in 2009, the Commission, on the basis of 
the information provided by the Member States, should base its analysis in particular 
on  the  results  of  checks  and  inspections  conducted  by  the  Member  States  after  the 
elections  with  a  view  to  measuring  the  frequency  of  double  voting  and  double 
candidacies, if any.  

(12)  A routine check of all the votes and of all the candidacies would be disproportionate to 
the problems identified, and there would be problems of feasibility since there are in 
the Member States no uniform electronic methods of recording and storing data on the 
actual  turnout  at  the  poll  and  on  the  candidacies  deposited;  Member  States  should 

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accordingly target their checks on the situations where there is a greater probability of 
double voting or double candidacies, 

HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE: 

Article 1 

Directive 93/109/EC is hereby amended as follows: 

(1) 

Article 2(9) is replaced by the following:  

"9. 'formal  declaration' means a declaration by the person concerned, inaccuracy in 
which makes that person liable to penalties, in accordance with Article 13(1)." 

(2) 

Article 6 is amended as follows: 

(a) 

paragraph 2 is replaced by the following:  

"2.  The  Member  State  of  residence  shall  check  whether  the  citizens  of  the 
Union  who  have  expressed  a  desire  to  exercise  their  right  to  stand  as  a 
candidate there have not been deprived of that right in the home Member State 
through an individual civil law or criminal law decision." 

(b) 

the following paragraph is added: 

"3.  For  the  purposes  of  paragraph  2  of  this  Article,  the  Member  State  of 
residence shall notify the home Member State of the declaration referred to in 
Article 10(1).  To that end,  the relevant information that is normally available 
from  the  home  Member  State  shall  be  provided  in  good  time  and  in  an 
appropriate  manner;  such  information  may  include  only  details  which  are 
strictly necessary for the implementation of this Article and may be used only 
for  that  purpose.  If  the  information  provided  invalidates  the  content  of  the 
declaration,  the  Member  State  of  residence  shall  take  the  appropriate  steps  to 
prevent the person concerned from standing as a candidate." 

(c) 

the following paragraph is added:  

"4.  The  home  Member  State  may  also,  in  good  time  and  in  an  appropriate 
manner,  submit  to  the  Member  State  of  residence  any  information  necessary 
for the implementation of this Article.” 

(3) 

Article 10 is amended as follows: 

(a) 

the following point (d) is added to paragraph 1:  

"(d)  that  he  has  not  been  deprived  of  the  right  to  stand  as  a  candidate  in  the 

home Member State."  

(b) 

paragraph 2 is deleted; 

(c) 

paragraph 3 is renumbered paragraph 2. 

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(4) 

Article 13 is replaced by the following: 

"Article 13 

1.  The  Member  State  of  residence  shall  take  the  necessary  measures  to  ensure  that 
such inaccuracies in the formal declarations provided for by Articles 9(2) and 10(1) 
as  have  the  effect  of  a  violation  of  the  obligations  imposed  by  this  Directive  are 
subject to effective, proportional and dissuasive penalties.  

2.  When  exercising  the  information  obligation  imposed  by  Article  12,  the  Member 
State of residence shall inform voters and candidates of the penalties provided for by 
paragraph 1 of this Article." 

(5) 

Article 16 is replaced by the following:  

"Article 16 

The  Commission,  on  the  basis  of  the  information  provided  by  the  Member  States, 
shall  report  to  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council  on  the  application  of  this 
Directive  to  the  2009  elections  to  the  European  Parliament,  together  if  appropriate 
with  a  proposal  for  amendment  of  this  Directive.  The  said  report  shall  analyse  in 
particular the application of Articles 4 and 13.  

For  the  purposes  of  the  first  subparagraph,  Member  States  shall  cooperate  among 
themselves  to  carry  out  post-election  checks  on  the  possible  occurrence  of  double 
voting  and  double  candidacies;  these  checks  and  inspections  may  concentrate  on 
situations  where  there  is  a  greater  probability  of  double  voting  or  double 
candidacies." 

Article 2 

1. 

The  Member  States  shall  implement  the  laws,  regulations  and  administrative 
provisions  needed  in  order  to  comply  with  this  Directive  by  30  June  2008  at  the 
latest.  They  shall  forthwith  communicate  to  the  Commission  the  text  of  those 
provisions and a correlation table between those provisions and this Directive. 

When  Member  States  adopt  these  measures,  they  shall  contain  a  reference  to  this 
Directive or shall be accompanied by such reference on the occasion of their official 
publication.  The  methods  of  making  such  reference  shall  be  laid  down  by  Member 
States. 

2. 

Member States shall communicate to the Commission the text of the main provisions 
of national law which they adopt in the field covered by this Directive. 

EN 

12 

   EN 

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

Article 3 

Article 4 

This Directive is addressed to the Member States. 

Done at Brussels,  

For the Council 
The President 

EN 

13 

   EN