REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION Report on the election of Members of the European Parliament (1976 Act as amended by Decision 2002/772/EC, Euratom) and on the participation of European Union citizens in elections for the European Parliament in the Member State of residence (Directive 93/109/EC)
Date: 2010-10-27
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU national, European Parliament, European Union, European election, Member of the European Parliament, right to stand for election, right to vote, universal suffrage, vote

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EUROPEAN COMMISSION 

Brussels, 27.10.2010 
COM(2010) 605 final 

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION 

Report on the election of Members of the European Parliament (1976 Act as amended 
by Decision 2002/772/EC, Euratom) and on the participation of European Union citizens 
in elections for the European Parliament in the Member State of residence (Directive 
93/109/EC) 

{COM(2010) 603 final} 

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REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION 

Report on the election of Members of the European Parliament (1976 Act as amended 
by Decision 2002/772/EC, Euratom) and on the participation of European Union citizens 
in elections for the European Parliament in the Member State of residence (Directive 
93/109/EC) 

1. 

INTRODUCTION 

Political rights granted to EU citizens consolidate their European identity. The right 
of  EU  citizens  to  vote  in  municipal  and  European  elections  in  whichever  Member 
State they choose to live in is essential for their participation in the democratic life of 
the Union. 

European elections are regulated by the 1976 Act1 on the election of the members of 
the  European  Parliament  by  direct  universal  suffrage,  as  amended  by  Council 
Decision 2002/772/EC, Euratom2, which lays down some common principles for all 
Member  States,  such  as  the  obligation  to  use  proportional  representation  and  to 
ensure  that  polling  day  falls  within  the  same  period  starting  on  a  Thursday  and 
ending on the following Sunday. Detailed arrangements for allowing EU citizens to 
participate in European elections in the Member State where they choose to live3 are 
laid down in Directive 93/109/EC4. Besides rules concerning registration on electoral 
rolls and checks to prevent double voting and candidacy, the Directive provides for a 
derogation  to  be  granted  to  Member  States  where  the  number  of  residents  who  are 
nationals  of  other  Member  States  exceeds  20 %  of  the  total  number  of  EU  citizens 
residing  there  who  are  of  voting  age5.  Eighteen  months  before  each  European 
election the Commission reports on whether derogations apply. The last Commission 
report was adopted on 20 December 20076. 

The  most  recent  European  elections  were  held  in  June  2009  when  the  number  of 
seats  in  the  European  Parliament  was  set  by  provisions  of  the  Nice  Treaty  at  736. 
Accordingly,  in  the  2009  elections  736  Members  were  elected  to  the  European 
Parliament. With the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty on 1 December 2009, the 
number  of  seats  will  increase  to  751.  The  necessary  preparatory  measures  to 
implement these provisions were taken by the Council on 23 June 20107. The Lisbon 
Treaty  also  introduced  a  modification  with  regard  to  the  definition  of  the 

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The  Act  is  annexed  to  Decision  76/787/ECSC,  EEC,  Euratom  of  20  September  1976  (OJ  L  278, 
8.10.1976). 
OJ L 283, 21.10.2002. 
EU  citizens  are  granted  the  right,  under  Article  22  TFEU,  to  vote  and  to  stand  in  municipal  and 
European  elections  in  the  Member  State  where  they  reside  without  having  the  nationality,  under  the 
same conditions as nationals. 
Directive 93/109/EC of 6 December 1993 (OJ L 329, 30.12.1993, p. 34). 
These  Member  States  may  impose  on  EU  citizens  from  other  Member  States  a  minimum  period  of 
residence on their territory before grating them the right to vote or to stand in the elections. 
See report COM(2007) 846. 
See doc 11192/10 of the Council of the European Union. 

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composition  of  the  European  Parliament.  Hereafter,  it  is  stipulated  that  it  shall  be 
composed of "representatives of the Union's citizens"8 instead of "representatives of 
the peoples of the States brought together in the Community"9.  

This  report  on  the  2009  European  Parliament  elections  accompanies  and  feeds  into 
the ‘EU Citizenship Report 2010: Dismantling the obstacles to EU citizens’ rights’, 
focusing on the problems citizens still face, especially when trying to source goods 
and services across internal borders, and ways to tackle them.  

The report aims at assessing the enforcement of EU citizens’ electoral rights in the 
2009 European Parliament elections. Firstly, it assesses the level of awareness about 
the elections and the associated rights, the measures taken by the Member States and 
by  the  EU  institutions  in  this  respect  and  the  actual  participation  in  the  elections. 
Secondly, it looks into how the Member States have transposed and implemented EU 
law  in  this  field.  Finally,  the  report  outlines  the  measures  to  be  taken  to  improve 
participation and guarantee enforcement of EU citizens’ electoral rights. 

This  report  builds  on  recent  Eurobarometer  surveys,  the  outcome  of  a  public 
consultation concluded on 15 June 2010, a conference on ‘EU citizens’ rights – the 
way forward’ that took place on 1 and 2 July 2010, information provided by electoral 
experts in the Member States and the Commission’s assessment of transposition and 
implementation of the 1976 Act and Directive 93/109/EC by the Member States.  

2. 

AWARENESS OF AND PARTICIPATION IN THE ELECTIONS 

2.1. 

General turnout and action to encourage participation 

Voter participation has steadily decreased since the first direct European elections in 
1979. At the beginning of 2009, Eurobarometer data revealed that only 34% of EU 
citizens were sure to vote in the European elections. 

Faced with this low turnout, the European Parliament, the European Council and the 
Commission  identified  the  elections  as  the  main  inter-institutional  communication 
priority for 2009 and decided to jointly raise awareness for the European elections in 
the  spirit  of  the  political  agreement  Communicating  Europe  in  Partnership10.  The 
Commission played an active part in drawing attention to the importance of the 2009 
European  elections11.  It  complemented  the  European  Parliament’s  campaign  with 
more  than  a  thousand  activities  and  events  mobilising  all  potential  communication 
platforms. Special efforts were made to target in particular women, young people and 
first-time  voters  since  these  groups  were  the  least  likely  to  vote  in  the  European 
elections, according to opinion polls conducted during the campaign. The campaign 
activities of the Commission made use of audio-visual and new media and included 
an ‘MTV campaign’ and a blogging project ‘TH!NK ABOUT IT’. Several types of 
leaflets  were  distributed,  such  as  ‘Europe  for  women’,  explaining  how  the  EU  is 
involved  in  areas  that  affect  the  daily  lives  of  citizens  and  a  specific  publication 

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Article 14.2 of theTreaty on European Union. 
Article 189 of the Treaty establishing the European Community. 
The political agreement ‘Communicating Europe in Partnership’ was signed on 22 October 2008. 
Report – European Elections 2009 Awareness Raising Activities of the European Commission: 
http://www.cc.cec/home/dgserv/comm/european_elections/report_european_elections_2009.html. 

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"Why  vote  in  the  European  Parliament  elections".  The  campaign  activity  also  built 
on  existing  public  events  and  addressed  targeted  established  networks,  such  as  the 
European  Chambers’  Women  Networks.  These  actions,  together  with  debates  and 
public  events  organised  by  the  European  Commission's  Representations  for  the 
general public, proved to produce positive benefits in terms of people's perception of 
the EU. 

Although awareness of the campaign launched by the EU encouraging people to vote 
is positive (67%), its impact seems to be limited on turnout. General turnout reached 
43%,  in  comparison  to  45%  in  2004,  which  confirms  the  decreasing  participation 
trend.  The  drop  in  the  participation  rate  in  the  2009  elections  was,  however, 
relatively small. 

Source: www.europarl.europa.eu 

The Commission also conducted a post-election public survey12 to measure possible 
variables  to  increase  turnout.  The  three  top  measures  that  could  boost  citizens' 
motivation to vote were: more information provided on the impact of the European 
Union on their daily life (84%), more information provided on the programmes and 
objectives  of  candidates  and  parties  in  the  European  Parliament  (83%)  and  more 
information provided on the European Parliament elections themselves (80%). These 
three most popular suggestions were supported by a majority of respondents in each 
Member  State.  61%  agreed  that  they  would  be  more  likely  to  participate  if  the 
elections were held on the same day throughout the Union. 

2.2. 

Awareness and turnout of EU citizens in the Member State of residence 

Statistics  indicate  that  increasing  numbers  of  EU  citizens  of  voting  age  live  in 
Member States other than the one they hold the nationality of. For example, in Spain 
the number of non-national EU citizens of voting age increased from 700 000 in 2004 
to almost 2 million in 2009, and in Cyprus from 45 000 to 77 000. In the light of the 

12 

Flash Eurobarometer No 292. 

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statistics it can be concluded that the political rights of EU citizens are of increasing 
significance,  in  parallel  with  the  growing  use  of  the  right  of  free  movement  and 
residence. 

The rise in numbers of the electorate is also confirmed when it comes to enrolment 
on the electoral lists in the Member States of residence. In 2009, almost everywhere 
there were more EU citizens registered to vote in their Member State of residence, 
compared  to  the  previous  elections.  For  example,  in  France  the  number  of  such 
citizens increased from 145 000 in 2004 to more than 200 000 in 2009; in Spain from 
130 000  to  284 000;  in  the  Czech  Republic  from  99  voters  to  703  in  2009.  On  the 
basis of data provided by the Member States, across the EU the proportion of citizens 
living  in  another  Member  State  and  registered  to  vote  there  in  the  2009  European 
elections  reached  11.6%13,  compared  to  5.9%  in  1994  when  the  Directive  was  first 
applied. 

Participation in the European elections in the Member State of residence - percentages, in each Member State, of 
non-national EU citizens who enrolled to vote there, compared to the total number of non-national EU citizens  in 
voting age residing there*

1994

1999

2004

2009

e
g
a
t
n
e
c
r
e
p

50

45

40

35

30

25

20

15

10

5

0

EU AT BE BG CZ DE DK EE EL ES FI FR HU IE IT LT LU LV  MT  NL PL PT RO SE SI SK UK

*Some of the Member States could not provide data to this table;
Participation in Ireland in 2009 was 61%

At the same time, in some Member States, even though the number of non-nationals 
of voting age residing on their territory increased, the rate of enrolment did not rise 
proportionately  in  2009  when  compared  to  2004.  For  example,  the  figure  for  non-
national EU citizens of voting age residing in Denmark rose from 58 148 in 2004 to 
96 783 in 2009 (increase of 66%). However, the number of those having registered to 
vote increased only from 15 572 to 16 776 (up 7%). In Lithuania, the number of non-
national EU citizens of voting age residing in the country increased by almost 80 % 
from  2004  to  2009,  while  the  number  of  those  who  also  registered  to  vote  there 
increased by just 10%.  

There  are  several  reasons  why  EU  citizens  living  in  another  Member  State,  even 
though there are more and more of them, tend not to make better use of their right to 

13 

These  figures  result  form  the  data  made  available  by  the  majority  of  Member  States.  However,  the 
Commission lacks sufficient information on number of Union citizens in Bulgaria, France, Italy, Malta, 
the Netherlands, Poland, Slovenia, Slovakia and United Kingdom. 

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vote  in  European  elections.  Firstly,  fewer  people  generally  are  participating  in  the 
elections,  including  EU  citizens  residing  in  their  Member  State  of  origin,  a  trend 
which has its own specific reasons. Another factor is the level of people’s awareness 
of their political rights, which is a precondition for involvement in the political life of 
the  Member  State  where  they  live.  The  Eurobarometer  survey  conducted  in  2010 
shows  that  awareness  has  increased  significantly  in  comparison  to  previous  years14 
but  there  is  still  scope  for  improvement.  While  in  2007  only  54%  of  participants 
knew that non-national EU citizens are entitled to vote in European elections in the 
Member State of residence, awareness of this right increased to 69% in 2010. When 
it  comes  to  individual  Member  States,  79%  of  Irish,  76%  of  Spanish  and  75%  of 
Latvian  nationals  were  aware  of  this  right,  the  highest  percentages  of  all  Member 
States.  

Rates  of  participation  in  the  European  elections  in  the  Member  State  of  residence 
may  also  be  influenced  by  the  fact  that,  because  double  voting  is  prohibited,  EU 
citizens  have  to  choose  whether  to  vote  in  their  Member  State  of  origin  or  in  the 
Member State to which they have moved (i.e. for different sets of candidates). The 
Eurobarometer survey revealed that people are extremely divided on the candidates 
and lists they prefer to vote for in European elections. About 44% said that, if living 
in a Member State other than the one they hold the nationality of, they would prefer 
to vote on the list of that Member State, while a similar percentage (46%) indicated 
that they would still prefer to exercise their right to vote in their home Member State. 

Available  indicative  statistics  concerning  participation  in  the  2009  European 
elections  seem  to  confirm  the  conclusions  of  the  public  survey.  In  some  cases,  a 
majority  of  nationals  of  a  given  Member  State  residing  in  other  Member  States 
preferred  to  vote  for  the  lists  of  their  Member  State  of  nationality.  In  the  case  of 
Spanish  nationals,  36 294  registered  to  vote  in  other  Member  States,  but  68 008 
Spanish nationals residing in other Member States chose to vote for the Spanish lists. 
In other cases, the majority of such nationals preferred to register to vote for the lists 
of  the  Member  State  of  residence.  As  regards  Poland,  for  example,  51 344  Polish 
nationals registered to vote for the lists of their Member States of residence and only 
10 093 chose to vote for the Polish lists. 

EU law allows non-national EU citizens not only to vote in European elections but 
also to stand as candidates in these elections under the same conditions as a Member 
State’s  nationals.  This  right  does  not  seem  to  be  exercised  by  a  high  number  of 
citizens,  since  in  the  2009  elections  only  81  citizens  stood  as  candidates  in  their 
respective  Member  States  of  residence  (in  1999  there  were  62  non-national 
candidates and 57 in 2004). Certain obstacles to the exercise of this right are assessed 
in Chapter 3.2 of the report. 

2.3. 

Information actions to encourage participation of EU citizens in the elections in 
the Member State of residence 

The Directive obliges the Member States to provide information to EU citizens from 
other  Member  States  on  how  to  exercise  their  right  to  vote  and  to  stand  as  a 
candidate in European elections.  

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The previous survey was carried out in 2007 — Flash Eurobarometer 213. 

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An  overview  of  the  measures  taken  by  Member  States  to  inform  EU  citizens  from 
other  Member  States  reveals  differing  approaches.  In  some  Member  States  the 
information  is  well  targeted  and  tailored  to  the  specific  needs  of  EU  citizens  from 
other  Member  States,  while  in  other  cases  only  general  information  campaigns  are 
carried out for the European elections, covering the whole electorate. 

Best  practices  include  sending  individual  letters  to  non-national  EU  citizens  to 
inform  them  of  the  arrangements  for  exercising  their  electoral  rights.  This  practice 
has been extended since the last elections and is now used by ten Member States15. 

Other  means,  such  as  advertising  in  newspapers,  TV  and  radio,  as  well  as 
information on the websites  of  national authorities are widely used by the Member 
States. 

The Commission attaches importance to informing EU citizens of their rights and of 
steps taken to encourage voter participation. Under the Stockholm Programme16 the 
EU institutions must give careful consideration to how to encourage citizens to vote, 
with  a  view  to  the  European  elections  in  2014.  It  is  within  this  context  that  the 
Commission,  via  the  Specific  Programme  on  Fundamental  Rights  and  Citizenship, 
gives  NGOs  and  other  organisations  the  opportunity  to  obtain  funding  for  their 
projects  on  awareness-raising  activities  in  this  field.  The  Commission  intends  to 
promote  such  funding  opportunities  and  to  cover  actions  aimed  at  participation  of 
women  in  the  electoral  process  as  voters  and  candidates.  Finally,  the  Strategy  for 
equality  between  women  and  men  2010-2015  provides  for  actions  to  promote 
participation  of  women  as  candidates  in  the  European  elections,  to  improve  the 
gender balance in the European Parliament. 

3. 

TRANSPOSITION  AND  IMPLEMENTATION  BY  THE  MEMBER  STATES  OF  EU  LAW 
GOVERNING THE 2009 ELECTIONS 

3.1. 

Taking stock of the rights of EU citizens – transposition of Directive 93/109/EC 

Directive  93/109/EC  provides  that  in  order  to  exercise  his/her  right  to  vote  and  to 
stand in European elections in the Member State of residence, an EU citizen has to 
ask  to  be  enrolled  on  the  electoral  lists  of  that  Member  State.  Since  voting  and 
standing as a candidate in the Member States of origin and of residence at the same 
time is not allowed, non-national EU citizens are required to make a declaration that 
they  will  only  vote  or  stand  as  a  candidate  in  the  Member  State  of  residence.  To 
prevent  double  voting  and  double  candidacy,  the  Member  States  exchange  data  to 
identify candidates and voters registered in both their Member State of residence and 
of origin. Candidates also have to submit a certificate, delivered by the authorities of 
their Member State of origin, proving that they are not deprived of the right to stand 
as a candidate. The Member States have an obligation to provide specific information 
to  EU  citizens  from  other  Member  States  residing  on  their  territory  on  the  detailed 
arrangements  for  exercising  their  right  to  vote  and  to  stand  as  candidates  in  the 
elections, as well as on the action taken in respect of their application for entry on the 
electoral roll and for standing as a candidate.  

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Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Latvia and Luxembourg. 
Document No 17024/09 of the Council of the EU, 2 December 2009. 

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The  compatibility  of  national  legislation  with  the  Directive  in  the  States  that  were 
members of the Union on 1 May 2004 has already been assessed by the Commission 
and  the  necessary  measures  taken,  as  from  the  entry  into  force  of  the  Directive  in 
1994.  Previous  reports  on  the  implementation  of  the  Directive,  published  in  199817 
and 200018, reviewed the state of play and the infringement proceedings launched for 
ensuring  transposition  and  implementation.  These  proceedings  have  led  to  correct 
transposition and implementation of the Directive by the concerned Member States19.  

Recent assessment by the Commission of transposition of the Directive in the States 
that became members of the Union after 1 May 2004 indicates that, on the whole, the 
legal conditions allowing EU citizens to exercise their right to vote and to stand as a 
candidate in their Member State of residence are fulfilled. During the 2009 elections, 
in ten Member States there were no immediate obstacles to EU citizens’ participation 
in  European  elections.  However,  in  two  Member  States,  Slovenia  and  Malta, 
conditions imposed on EU citizens seemed to create a major obstacle to the exercise 
of  this  right.  In  Slovenia,  EU  citizens  from  other  Member  States  were  granted  the 
right to vote and to stand in European elections only after a minimum of five years’ 
residence in that Member State.  

Malta’s legislation still provides that for registering on the electoral roll EU citizens 
from  other  Member  States  have  to  present  a  ‘Maltese  ID  card’20.  Furthermore,  the 
electoral authority, ‘whenever it deems necessary’, may require EU citizens to renew 
their declaration made when registering on the electoral roll. As a consequence, EU 
citizens  from  other  Member  States  might  be  excluded  from  participating  in  the 
elections in Malta even if already enrolled on the electoral lists.  

Furthermore,  in  a  number  of  Member  States21,  national  laws  impose  additional 
requirements for EU citizens seeking to be enrolled to vote or to stand as a candidate, 
such as the requirement to provide a registration document for proving residence or 
the  obligation  to  renew  registration  for  each  European  election.  Such  requirements 
are also contrary to the Directive. 

Finally,  a  number  of  Member  States  seem  to  have  failed  to  correctly  transpose  the 
obligation  to  provide  information  to  citizens  on  the  detailed  arrangements  for 
exercising their right to vote and to stand in elections22. Not giving citizens sufficient 
information is one of the reasons for low participation in the elections. 

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COM(97) 731. 
COM(2000) 843. 
Infringement  proceedings  were  carried  out  against  Austria,  Belgium,  Germany,  Spain,  Italy, 
Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Sweden. 
Directive 2004/38 EC abolished residence permits for EU citizens and replaced them with registration 
certificates. 
Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Malta, Romania and Slovenia. 
Out  of  EU12  Member  States,  this  requirement  has  been  correctly  transposed  only  in  the  Czech 
Republic, Cyprus, Estonia and Lithuania. 

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3.2. 

Obstacles  faced  by  EU  citizens  wishing  to  found  or  to  become  members  of 
political  parties  in  the  Member  State  in  which  they  live,  other  than  the  one  of 
origin 

Another  obstacle  to  EU  citizens’  enjoyment  of  their  right  to  participate  in  the 
European  elections  is  linked  to  restrictions  regarding  their  membership  of  political 
parties and the conditions for founding political parties. 

Exercise  of  the  right  to  stand  as  a  candidate  in  the  elections  is  strongly  linked  to 
membership  of political parties. The candidates, in most cases, run on the lists that 
are  put  forward  by  political  parties  and  made  up  of  their  respective  members. 
Member State laws restricting membership of political parties to their own nationals 
prevent  other  EU  citizens  from  running  in  the  European  elections  as  members  of 
political parties. Consequently, non-national EU citizens are only able to run in the 
elections  as  independents  or  as  candidates  put  forward  by  organisations  other  than 
political  parties,  in  line  with  the  national  arrangements  in  place.  Such  legislation 
means that conditions for the exercise of this right are not the same for non-nationals 
as for nationals. 

Furthermore,  if  non-national  EU  citizens  do  not  have  the  right  to  found  political 
parties  but  can  only  join  existing  ones,  they  are  denied  the  chance  of  representing 
platforms not represented by the existing parties. 

Assessment  of  the  national  laws  shows  that  in  the  Czech  Republic,  Lithuania  and 
Poland EU citizens from other Member States do not have the right to found political 
parties or to become members of the existing parties. It should be noted that, despite 
this restriction, EU citizens from other Member States are not completely excluded 
from standing in the elections. In the Czech Republic and in Lithuania the political 
parties  can  also  put  forward  on  their  lists  independent  candidates.  In  Poland,  apart 
from the political parties, a group of voters have the right to put forward candidates. 
Nonetheless,  EU  citizens  from  other  Member  States  are  prevented  under  such 
legislation  from  exercising  their  right  to  stand  as  a  candidate  under  the  same 
conditions as nationals. 

In  Bulgaria,  Greece,  Latvia,  Spain  and  Slovakia,  EU  citizens  from  other  Member 
States have the right to become members of the existing parties but do not have the 
right to found a party. In Germany and Finland a quota of national citizens is fixed 
for founding a political party and thus non-national EU citizens can only found new 
political parties when acting together with nationals of these two Member States. 

3.3. 

Publication of the results of elections — transposition and implementation of the 
1976 Act 

The  1976  Act  on  the  election  of  the  members  of  the  European  Parliament  was  last 
amended  by  Decision  2002/772/EEC,  which  introduced  the  currently  applicable 
common principles on the organisation of the elections. There has been no report on 
transposition of this Act since its amendment in 2002.  

The  Commission’s  assessment  indicates  that  overall  transposition  of  the  Act  is 
nearing completion in most of the Member States. The only notable issue is the lack 

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of transposition of Article 10(2) prohibiting early publication of election results, i.e. 
before the polls are closed in all Member States. Twelve Member States23 seem not 
to  have  transposed  this  requirement  correctly.  Apart  from  the  Netherlands,  none  of 
these  Member  States  published  the  results  early.  Nonetheless,  there  is  no  legal 
guarantee that they will not do so in future elections.  

The purpose of this article is to ensure that the early release of results in one Member 
State does not influence the vote in any way in other Member States where polling is 
still  going  on.  This  is  to  guarantee  free  suffrage,  which  is  a  basic  democratic 
principle to be respected in the European parliamentary elections pursuant to Article 
1(3) of the 1976 Act. 

3.4. 

Developments in EU case law 

In  two  recent  judgments  connected  with  European  elections,  the  Gibraltar  case  (C-
145/04,  Spain  v.  UK)  and  the  Aruba  case  (C-300/04,  Eman  en  Sevinger),  the 
European Court of Justice made the important point that although the Member States 
have  discretion  in  regulating  those  aspects  of  electoral  procedure  for  the  European 
Parliament (EP) elections which are not harmonised at EU level, they must respect 
general  principles  of  EU  law,  under  the  control  of  the  Court  of  Justice.  In  its 
judgment in the Gibraltar case, the Court explained that EU law does not prevent a 
Member  State  from  extending  franchise,  beyond  its  own  citizens  and  EU  citizens 
living on its territory, to other defined categories of persons having close links with 
it. Similarly, in its judgment in the Aruba case, the Court indicated that EU law does 
not prevent a Member State from withholding the right to vote in EP elections from 
its  own  citizens  who  do  not  reside  on  its  territory.  However,  Member  States  are 
obliged to respect EU law including its general principles. This includes in particular 
the principle of equality of treatment and non-discrimination. 

4. 

EFFORTS  TO  GUARANTEE  THE  RIGHT  OF  EU  CITIZENS  TO  PARTICIPATE  IN  THE 
DEMOCRATIC LIFE OF THE UNION 

4.1. 

Transposition of Directive 93/109/EC and the 1976 Act 

The  Commission  has  stepped  up  its  efforts  to  ensure  transposition  and  correct 
implementation of Directive 93/109/EC. On the basis of conclusions drawn from the 
assessment of national legislation, the Commission is taking the necessary measures 
to ensure that obstacles to the exercise of electoral rights are removed, including that 
the  obligation  to  inform  citizens  of  their  rights  is  fully  respected  in  all  Member 
States.  The  Commission  has  also  dealt  as  a  priority  with  the  obstacles  preventing 
citizens from fully making use of their right to stand as a candidate in the European 
elections  in  the  Member  State  of  residence  and  the  necessary  measures  are  being 
taken  to  ensure  that  these  citizens  are  free  to  join  political  parties  in  their  Member 
State  of  residence.  Concerning  transposition  of  the  1976  Act,  the  Commission  is 
taking the necessary measures to ensure implementation of Article 10(2). 

23 

Bulgaria,  Cyprus,  Czech  Republic,  Denmark,  Greece,  Finland,  Italy,  Netherlands,  Poland,  Romania, 
Sweden and United Kingdom. 

EN 

10 

   EN 

                                                 
4.2. 

Preventing double voting — efforts to improve the current mechanism 

Since  the  current  mechanism  for  preventing  double  voting  and  double  candidacy24 
was considered deficient, the Commission adopted a proposal to amend the Directive 
in 2006. The proposal aimed at simplifying the system and making it more effective: 
it included in particular the replacement of the current ex-ante mechanism with ex-
post checks on the votes cast, combined with heavier penalties. The proposal is still 
pending in the Council, as discussions were suspended in 2008.  

Therefore, the current mechanism was again used in the 2009 elections. Despite all 
the preparatory work for these elections, there has been no great improvement. The 
problems  with  the  mechanism  were  the  same  as  in  previous  elections.  Due  to  non-
harmonised  electoral  timetables  and  differences  in  the  data  used  in  the  Member 
States for identifying voters, information on EU citizens sent by the Member State of 
residence  to  the  Member  State  of  origin  very  often  cannot  be  used.  Therefore,  the 
purpose of the mechanism, i.e. removal from the lists in the Member State of origin 
of those registered in the Member State of residence, cannot be fully achieved.  

Due  to  these  difficulties,  large  numbers  of  non-national  EU  citizens  could  not  be 
identified  within  the  information  exchange  mechanism.  For  example,  the  Czech 
authorities identified only 2 500 out of the 3 800 Czech nationals notified by the other 
Member  States,  because  insufficient  data  were  available;  in  Ireland  only  208 
nationals  were  identified  out  of  the  4 795  notified;  Portugal  identified  only  38 619 
nationals out of the 83 556 who were notified. 

Under the Directive only limited data need be recorded at the time of registration of 
the  non-national  EU  citizen  on  the  electoral  roll25.  The  date  of  birth,  which  seems 
necessary  in  most  of  the  Member  States  for  identifying  their  nationals  on  the 
electoral lists, is not required by the Directive. It can be concluded that the current 
list of data to be collected, as provided for in the Directive, is not sufficient for the 
mechanism to work properly. 

With regard to the issue of timing, the Directive merely provides for the data to be 
sent ‘sufficiently in advance of polling day’. Nonetheless, an overview of the state of 
play indicates that in many cases, the information sent by one Member State comes 
too  late  for  the  other  to  process  it26.  For  example,  the  Greek  authorities  did  not 
process any of the information sent by other Member States where Greek nationals 
were residing, since all the information was received after 3 March 2009, when the 
electoral rolls are closed in that Member State and cannot be modified. The lack of a 
common time frame for registering voters and sending data can be considered as an 
impediment to the functioning of the mechanism. 

24 

25 

26 

The  mechanism  consists  in  exchanging  data  between  the  Member  States  on  EU  citizens  registered  to 
vote in their Member State of residence. On the basis of data sent by the Member State of residence, the 
Member State of origin must remove from its electoral roll the citizens concerned (or prevent them by 
other means from casting their vote). 
Article  9  provides  for:  name,  nationality,  address,  and  locality  in  the  home  Member  State  where  the 
citizen was last registered. 
This  problem  was  identified  by  Lithuania,  Hungary,  the  Czech  Republic,  Denmark,  Estonia,  Greece, 
France, and Ireland. 

EN 

11 

   EN 

                                                 
Further  obstacles  identified  by  the  Member  States  include  the  dispatching  of  the 
information by a large number of decentralised bodies instead of one single contact 
point; problems accessing data sent electronically and protected by different security 
tools; handling large numbers of notifications sent in paper format. 

In the light of the difficulties with the mechanism that persisted in the 2009 elections, 
the  Commission  is  examining  ways  to  improve  things,  including  the  possibility  of 
withdrawing  its  2006  proposal  and  replacing  it  with  a  modified  version.  Two 
requirements  have  to  be  met:  the  need  to  improve  efficiency  in  detecting  double 
voting to ensure legitimacy of the elections and the need to provide for a light system 
which does not constitute a disproportionate administrative burden compared to the 
problem  and  the  extent  of  double  voting.  A  more  efficient  mechanism  seems  to 
require  further  common  rules,  e.g.  concerning  electoral  schedules  and  data  to  be 
collected. Further steps will need to take into account the timetable of the European 
Parliament reform, which might impact on provisions in Directive 93/109/EC. 

4.3.  Modification of the 1976 Act (initiated by the EP) — Commission contribution 

to the EP initiative 

The  European  Parliament  has  been  active  since  2007  in  tackling  the  issue  of  low 
participation  of  EU  citizens  in  European  elections27.  Discussions  were  aimed  at 
introducing  new  common  principles  in  the  electoral  procedures  to  bring  citizens 
closer to the decision-making process and to strengthen the European dimension of 
these  elections.  This  objective  is  meant  to  be  reached  through  new  features  of  the 
European elections such as an EU-wide list, where the whole territory of the Union 
would  constitute  a  single  electoral  constituency  for  which  a  fixed  number  of 
Members  of  the  EP  would  be  elected  in  addition  to  the  751  currently  set  by  the 
Treaty.  Transnational  lists  are  meant  to  increase  the  role  of  political  parties  at 
European level and to trigger campaign activities which would focus on issues that 
go beyond national interests and highlight European questions and debates. Regional 
constituencies to be created in the Member States with populations over 20 million 
would serve to bring the activity of the Members of the EP closer to the constituents. 
Some European political parties promote political programmes (platforms), and some 
of them put forward the idea of designating their candidate for the office of President 
of  the  European  Commission,  running  in  the  elections  on  the  list  of  the  individual 
European  political  party.  The  European  Parliament  has  itself  the  power  to  initiate 
changes  to  the  electoral  procedure  applicable  in  all  Member  States28.  Even  though 
the  Commission  has  no  formal  role  in  this  respect,  it  intends  to  contribute  by 
presenting  a  comparative  study  concluded  in  2010.  The  study  identifies  aspects  of 
electoral  arrangements  as  further  potential  common  principles.  These  include 
introducing out-of-country voting facilities for expatriate voters so that they can vote 
in the elections for the lists of their Member State of origin; eliminating the current 
possibility  of  applying  a  threshold  to  improve  the  chances  of  smaller  parties 
achieving  representation;  abolishing  financial  deposits  required  in  a  number  of 
Member States before a political party or an independent candidate can stand in the 
elections;  bringing  forward  the  deadline  for  registering  voters  to  facilitate  cross-
checking of registered voters by Member States. 

27 
28 

Draft report on a proposal for modification of the 1976 Act (2007/2207(INI). 
Article 223(1) TFEU. 

EN 

12 

   EN 

                                                 
5. 

CONCLUSIONS 

More  and  more  EU  citizens  are  exercising  their  right  to  free  movement,  and  may 
wish  also  to  make  use  of  their  voting  rights  in  their  Member  State  of  residence. 
However,  it  seems  that  the  number  of  citizens  who  register  to  vote  in  European 
elections in the Member State where they live is lower than the potential electorate, 
i.e. the number of EU citizens of voting age who live in a Member State other than 
their own. This indicates that there is scope for making citizens more aware of their 
electoral  rights  and  encouraging  them  to  participate  in  the  democratic  life  of  the 
Union. 

Properly informed EU citizens are much more likely to get involved in political life. 
In  the  aftermath  of  the  European  Parliament  elections,  the  Commission  identified 
best  practices  that  should  be  pursued  with  a  view  to  the  2014  elections.  The 
Commission will propose to designate 2013 as the European Year of Citizens also in 
view of raising awareness on European Parliament elections. This is expected to lead 
to a better mobilization of the electorate in 2014. 

The  Commission  also  intends  to  continue  offering  funding  for  activities  of  NGOs 
and  other  organisations  to  ensure  that  citizens  know  their  electoral  rights  and  are 
encouraged to make use of them.  

Besides  informing  citizens  of  their  electoral  rights,  proper  legal  conditions  are  an 
important  prerequisite  for  the  exercise  of  these  rights.  The  Commission  is  looking 
carefully  at  the  way  the  Member  States  have  transposed  and  implemented  relevant 
EU law, and will where necessary take steps to remedy shortcomings.  

Difficulties with the current mechanism for prohibiting voting in two Member States 
in  the  same  European  elections,  already  identified  by  the  Commission  in  previous 
elections and addressed in 2006 by a proposal for amending it, persisted in 2009. The 
Commission  is  examining  the  need  to  replace  the  2006  proposal  with  a  further 
amendment  to  Directive  93/109/EC.  A  more  efficient  mechanism  seems  to  require 
further  common  rules.  At  the  same  time,  any  new  arrangement  should  be 
proportionate to the problem and extent of double voting.  

The Commission is also following and, within the limits of its powers, contributing 
to  the  ongoing  reflection  in  the  European  Parliament  on  how  to  generate  greater 
interest  among  citizens.  The  Commission  will  support  efforts  to  enhance  the 
European dimension of the elections and to reform the way in which the Members of 
the European Parliament are elected so that to bring political parties and the decision-
making  process  closer  to  the  citizens  and  to  strengthen  the  democratic  basis  of  its 
functioning. 

EN 

13 

   EN