The European Parliament adopted, on Tuesday 14 February, two reports setting out measures to facilitate the participation of the eleven million mobile European citizens in the European (‘Boeselager’ report - 500 votes in favour, 143 against, 9 abstentions) and municipal (‘Brudziński’ report - 504 votes in favour, 79 against, 69 abstentions) elections (see EUROPE 13075/21).
MEPs are calling for rules that allow an EU citizen to register to vote in the host Member State as soon as he or she completes the administrative procedures for obtaining a residence permit. Information on electoral rights for newly registered mobile citizens should be available in an official EU language that they speak. And, according to the European Parliament, the same rules for registering as a candidate in municipal and European elections should apply to everyone, whether a national or a resident from another EU country.
Parliament also calls for the abolition of derogations allowing a Member State to restrict the electoral rights of nationals of other EU countries when they represent more than 20% of the electorate, as in Luxembourg.
“We succeeded in making sure voting in EU and local elections is more accessible, more competitive and more European!”, said Damian Boeselager (Greens/EFA, German) in a statement.
In order to be endorsed, these recommendations must be approved by the Council of the EU by unanimity of the Member States.
See the ‘Boeselager’ report: https://aeur.eu/f/5bg
See the ‘Brudziński’ report: https://aeur.eu/f/5bj (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)