19 Amendments of Charles GOERENS related to 2021/0372(CNS)
Amendment 66 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 8
Recital 8
(8) In line with International and European standards, including, the requirements of International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the law of the European Convention on Human Rights, Member States should not only recognize and respect the right of Union citizens to vote and to stand as a candidate but also ensure easy access to their electoral rights by removing as manyll obstacles to participation in elections as possible.
Amendment 70 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 9
Recital 9
(9) In order to facilitate the exercise by Union citizens of their right to vote and to stand as a candidate in their country of residence, such citizens should be allowed to request the registration on the electoral roll of the host Member State as soon as they register or notify the authorities of their residence. Non-national citizens should in any case be entered on the electoral roll in sufficient time in advance of polling day. The formalities applicable to their registration should be as simple as possible. It should be sufficient for the Union citizens concerned to produce a valid identity card and a formal declaration that includes elements evidencing their entitlement to participate in the elections. Once registered, non- national Union citizens should remain on the electoral roll under the same conditions as Union citizens who are nationals of the Member State concerned, for as long as they satisfy the conditions for exercising the right to vote. Additionally, Union citizens should provide the competent authorities with contact information, enabling those authorities to keep them informed on a regular basis.
Amendment 71 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 10
Recital 10
(10) While Member States are competent to determine the right to vote or to stand as a candidate in elections to the European Parliament as regards nationals who reside outside their territory, the fact that non-national Union citizens have been entered on the electoral roll of their Member State of residence should not in itself constitute grounds for their removal from the electoral roll of their home Member State for other types of elections. The risk of de-registration from the electoral roll of the home Member State for other types of elections is one of the main factors discouraging non-national Union citizens from participating in elections to the European Parliament, with the result that the views of non- national Union citizens are disproportionately less well represented than those of citizens who are nationals of the Member State concerned.
Amendment 72 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 10 a (new)
Recital 10 a (new)
(10 a) The prevention of removal from the electoral roll of non-national Union citizens’ home Member States for other types of elections should require the adoption of effective and innovative tools at the European level. The creation of a European electoral certificate allows for the registration of Union citizens in the electoral rolls of multiple Member States for the elections to the European Parliament, while averting double voting.
Amendment 75 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 13
Recital 13
(13) Union citizens who have been deprived of their right to vote and to stand as candidates, on the basis of an individual civil law or criminal law decision taken by the competent authority, should be precluded from exercising that right in the Member State of residence in elections to the European Parliament. When receiving an application for registration as a voter, Member States may in duly justified cases require from the citizen concerned a formal declaration confirming that they have not been deprived of their right to vote. When standing as candidates in their country of residence, Union citizens should be required to produce a statement confirming that they have not been deprived of the right to stand in the elections to the European Parliament.
Amendment 76 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 14
Recital 14
(14) It should be possible for the Member State of residence to check that Union citizens who have expressed a desire to exercise their right to stand as candidates have not been deprived of that right in their home country. The adoption of a European electoral certificate should enable the exchange of information between Member States in this regard. Where a Member State receives a request to that effect from the Member State of residence, it should provide the necessary confirmation within a time-limit allowing for the admissibility of the candidacy to be effectively assessed. The personal data being exchanged may only be processed for that purpose. Given the fundamental importance of electoral rights, failure by the home Member State to provide timely information on the status of a Union citizen should not result in the deprivation of the right to stand as a candidate in the Member State of residence. In cases where the relevant information is provided at a later stage, the Member State of residence should ensure, by appropriate measures and in accordance with the procedures provided for by its national law, that Union citizens deprived of the right to stand in their home Member State who were registered as candidates or have already been elected, are prevented from being elected or from exercising their mandate.
Amendment 83 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 21
Recital 21
(21) In order to improve the accessibility of electoral information, such information should be made available in at least one other official language of the Union than that or those of the host Member State, broadly understood by the largest possible number of Union citizens residing on its territory. Member States should be encouraged to provide information also in the native language of the non-national Union citizen. Member States may use different official languages of the Union in specific parts of their territory or their regions depending on the language understood by the largest group of Union citizens residing therein.
Amendment 86 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 21 a (new)
Recital 21 a (new)
(21 a) Non-national Union citizens should receive information about the possibility of voting or standing as a candidate when they register as residents of a Member State of which they are not nationals. Information pertaining to the registration as a voter or as a candidate should also be provided periodically, ahead of European elections, in a timely manner, to all voters and persons entitled to stand as candidates pursuant to Article 3. Moreover, non-national Union citizens should be duly informed about their distinct rights under the municipal and European electoral systems.
Amendment 95 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 26
Recital 26
(26) Data regarding the exercise of rights and the application of this Directive can be useful in theis critical in the evaluation of the relevant Union policy and identification of measures necessary to ensure the effective exercise of Union citizens’ electoral rights. In order to increase and improve the collection of dataand reporting of data by Member States for elections to the European Parliament, it is necessary to introduce regular monitoring and to harmonise the reporting of implementation by Member States. In parallel, the Commission should assess the application of this Directive, and submit a report including such an assessment to the European Parliament and to the Council, after each election to the European Parliament.
Amendment 103 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 9 – paragraph 1
Article 9 – paragraph 1
1. Member States shall take the necessary measures to enable a Union voter who has expressed the wish to be registered as a voter to be entered on the electoral roll sufficiently in advance of polling day. Member States shall enable registration as soon as the voter concerned registers for residence
Amendment 108 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 11 – paragraph 1
Article 11 – paragraph 1
1. The Member State of residence shall inform the persons concerned in gooda timely manner and in clear and plain language, in their native language, or in official languages of the Union other than that or those of the host Member State, broadly understood by the largest possible number of Union citizens residing on its territory of the decision taken on their application for entry on the electoral roll or of the decision concerning the admissibility of their application to stand as a candidate.
Amendment 110 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 11 – paragraph 3
Article 11 – paragraph 3
3. In case of errors in the electoral rolls or in the lists of candidates to the European Parliament, the person concerned shall be informed thereof in a timely manner and entitled to legal remedies on similar terms as the laws of the Member State of residence prescribe for voters and persons entitled to stand as candidates who are its nationals.
Amendment 121 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 12 – paragraph 4 a (new)
Article 12 – paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. The designated authority shall collaborate with other competent authorities to ensure that citizens are informed of their rights under this Directive as soon as they register for residence in the Member State concerned. A person entitled to vote and stand as a candidate pursuant to Article 3 who establishes his residence in the country concerned, shall automatically receive information about their rights under this Directive. That information shall also be provided periodically, sufficiently ahead of the elections to the European Parliament, to all voters and persons entitled to stand as candidates pursuant to Article 3.
Amendment 122 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 13 – paragraph 2
Article 13 – paragraph 2
2. The home Member State shall ensure that measures referred to in paragraph 1 do not prevent its nationals from voting or standing as candidates in other types of elections. Appropriate measures, such as the adoption of a common European Electoral Certificate, shall be taken at the Union level to support the efforts of Member States to avoid de-registration of mobile Union citizens from electoral rolls for other types of elections, while preventing double voting and securing equal treatment among national and non-national Union citizens.
Amendment 131 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 17 – title
Article 17 – title
Amendment 133 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 17 – paragraph 1
Article 17 – paragraph 1
1. Within six months after each election to the European Parliament Member States shall send detailed information to the Commission on the application of this Directive in their territory. In addition to general observations, the report shall contain uniform statistical data on the participation in elections to the European Parliament of Union voters and Union citizens entitled to stand as candidates and a summarydetailed overview of the measures taken to support it.
Amendment 134 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 17 – paragraph 2 a (new)
Article 17 – paragraph 2 a (new)
2 a. The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 20 concerning a template and the form of the data to be collected for the purposes of paragraph 1 of this Article.
Amendment 136 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 18 – paragraph 1
Article 18 – paragraph 1
Within twoone years after the 2029 elections to the European Parliament, the Commission shall assess its application and produce an evaluation report on the progress towards achievement of the objectives contained herein. The evaluation shall also include a review on the functioning of Article 13.
Amendment 139 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 20 – paragraph 2
Article 20 – paragraph 2
2. The power to adopt delegated acts referred to in Articles 9, 10, 13 and 137 shall be conferred on the Commission for an indeterminate period of time from the entry into force of this Directive.