91997E3168

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3168/97 by Graham Mather (PPE) to the Commission (13 October 1997)

Subject: Voting rights of non-national EU citizens in Member States

Under the Treaty on European Union, every citizen has the right to vote in municipal elections in the EU Member State where he or she is resident under the same conditions as nationals of that country. Directive 94/80 ((OJ L 368, 31.12.1994, p. 38. )) laid down the detailed arrangements for the exercise of those rights and was to have been transposed into national law by 1 January 1996.

One of my constituents has been told by a French department office that she is not eligible to vote in the relevant local elections because she has not been continually resident there for not less than six months.

In practice, Member States and their municipalities are able to exercise some discretion over the application of the provisions of the directive. For example, Article 4(2) states that: 'if, under the laws of the Member State of residence, its own nationals may vote ... only in the basic local government unit in which they have their principal residence, voters ... within the scope of Article 3 shall also be subject to this condition.'

However, Article 4(1) specifies that: 'if, in order to vote ... nationals of the Member State of residence must have spent a certain minimum period as a resident in that territory of that State ... voters shall be deemed to have fulfilled that condition where they have resided for an equivalent period in other Member States.'

What mechanisms does the Commission have in place to monitor the application of this directive and ensure that the various derogations and discretionary features of the directive are being correctly applied and are not leading to discrimination against non-nationals?

Answer given by Mr Monti on behalf of the Commission (8 December 1997)

France has not yet implemented Council Directive 94/80/EC of 19 December 1994 laying down detailed arrangements for the exercise of the right to vote and to stand as a candidate in municipal elections by citizens of the Union residing in a Member State of which they are not nationals and therefore Union citizens resident in France are at present unable to vote or to stand as candidates in municipal elections there. Consequently the Commission has opened infringement proceedings against France.

Concerning the monitoring of the application of the Directive, it should be noted that once the national implementing measures are notified the Commission makes a detailed analysis to determine whether they are compatible with the provisions of the Directive. Moreover, the Commission follows up any complaint it receives from citizens alleging instances of incorrect application of Community law.