By refusing European citizens residing on their territory the right to join a political party, Poland and the Czech Republic are in breach of European Union electoral law, writes the Advocate General of the Court of Justice of the European Union, Jean Richard de la Tour, in his Opinion published on Thursday 11 January.
The European Commission has lodged two appeals against Poland (case C-814/21) and the Czech Republic (case C-808/21), which only grant the right to become a member of a political party to nationals. As a result, mobile European citizens cannot exercise their right to stand as candidates in municipal and European elections under the same conditions as Poles and Czechs, it argues, claiming discrimination on the basis of nationality that is incompatible with the TFEU (Article 22).
The Advocate General concludes that the actions are well founded. In his view, although membership of a political party falls within their competence, Member States must comply with their obligations deriving from EU law.
Therefore, a mobile European citizen who cannot join a political party in the host country is placed in a situation that reduces his or her chances of being elected in municipal and European elections, since the only option for being elected is to stand as an independent candidate. And, adds Mr de la Tour, guaranteeing this right to mobile European citizens is not likely to undermine the national identity of the host country.
To see the Opinion of the Advocate General: https://aeur.eu/f/acd (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)