Voting rights and eligibility in European Parliament elections (from 2027)

KEY POINTS

Scope

The directive sets rules for EU citizens residing in a Member State of which they are not nationals (‘non-national EU citizens’) to vote and stand as candidates in Parliament elections in that Member State.

It does not affect national rules on the voting rights of a Member State’s own nationals residing abroad.

Objectives

The directive ensures equal treatment and effective participation of non-national EU citizens in Parliament elections by clarifying conditions and simplifying procedures for exercising electoral rights, while safeguarding electoral integrity.

It will recast and replace Directive 93/109/EC (see summary) from 30 September 2027.

Eligibility and main rights

Non-national EU citizens who meet the same conditions as nationals may vote and stand as candidates in their Member State of residence unless individually deprived of those rights.

The directive defines the requirements that non-national EU citizens must satisfy to vote or to stand as a candidate in their host Member State. They must:

• be resident in the Member State in which they wish to vote or to stand as a candidate;
• satisfy the same eligibility conditions as a national of that Member State.

Non-national EU citizens deprived of the right to vote or to stand as a candidate by an individual judicial decision (or an administrative decision subject to judicial remedies) in the home Member State may not exercise those rights in the host Member State.

Registration and safeguards

Member States must enable non-national EU citizens to be entered on the electoral roll sufficiently in advance of polling day.

Applicants must:

• provide the same documents as nationals;
• submit a formal declaration confirming their name, nationality, date and place of birth, address in the host Member State and that they will vote only in the Member State of residence.

Member States may require additional identification details, such as a personal identification number, the number of a valid identity document or contact details. For entry on the electoral roll, Member States may also require voters to declare that they have not been deprived of the right to vote in their home Member State and indicate the date from which they have been resident in a Member State.

Once entered on the electoral roll, non-national EU citizens remain registered under the same conditions as nationals, unless they request removal or no longer meet the eligibility requirements.

Candidates must declare that they have not been deprived of the right to stand as a candidate in the home Member State through an individual judicial decision or an administrative decision. The Member State of residence verifies with the home Member State whether the person has been deprived of the right to stand as a candidate.

To prevent multiple voting and multiple candidacies, Member States exchange relevant information. They must ensure that no person votes or stands as a candidate in more than one Member State in the same election. The European Commission provides a secure framework to support this exchange, and all personal data processing must comply with Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (see summary).

Access to information and voting methods

Member States must inform non-national EU citizens in good time about:

• registration procedures and eligibility conditions;
• when, where and how to vote;
• rights, obligations and sanctions;
• means of obtaining further information.

Information must be provided in clear and accessible language, including for persons with disabilities, and must also be made available, for information purposes only, in at least one other widely understood official EU language.

Where advance, postal, electronic or internet voting is available to nationals, it must also be available to non-national EU citizens under similar conditions.

Derogations and monitoring

Where non-national EU citizens represent more than 20 % of the voting-age population, a Member State may require a minimum residence period (up to five years for voting and 10 years for standing as a candidate), in compliance with EU law.

Member States must collect, where available, statistical data on the participation of non-national EU citizens and report after each election. The Commission will report to the Parliament and to the Council of the European Union and evaluate the directive after the 2034 elections.