Addressing the consequences of disenfranchisement of Union citizens exercising their right to free movement

In this communication, the Commission addresses the situation of European citizens losing their right to vote in national elections in their home country because they reside in another Member State for a given period of time.

ACT

Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions: Addressing the consequences of disenfranchisement of Union citizens exercising their right to free movement (COM(2014) 33 final of 29 January 2014).

SUMMARY

EU citizens from certain Member States lose the right to vote (they are ‘disenfranchised’ ) in national elections of their home country once they reside abroad for a given period a time, including in another EU country. As a consequence, they are not able to participate in any national elections, whether in their own country or in their country of residence.

Five Member States are concerned (Denmark, Ireland, Cyprus, Malta and the United Kingdom (1)), citizens of which can lose their right to vote solely on the grounds that they have been residing abroad for a certain period of time. Two other countries (Germany and Austria) impose certain conditions for maintaining the right to vote in national elections.

Disenfranchising citizens may be considered as limiting the enjoyment of fundamental rights attached to Union citizenship, such as the right to move and reside freely within the European Union. Moreover, it leads to a gap in the political rights of the EU citizens concerned that is inconsistent with the efforts to promote citizens’ participation in the democratic life of the Union.

On the one hand, the Commission proposes short-term solutions to this situation. EU countries should at least enable their nationals who reside in another EU country to retain their right to vote if they demonstrate a continuing interest in the political life of their national country. This could be, for example, by means of an application to remain registered on the electoral roll. Such applications could be renewed at appropriate intervals and their lodging should be possible by electronic means.

On the other hand, it recommends a longer-term reflection on how to remedy the gap in participation for EU citizens living in another Member State, taking also into account the current debate on enfranchisement in the host country.

last update 18.06.2014

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(1) The United Kingdom withdraws from the European Union and becomes a third country (non-EU country) as of 1 February 2020.