The Commission presents a report on the application of Directive 94/80 / EC on the application of Directive 94/80/EC on the right to vote and to stand as a candidate in municipal elections

In this third report, the Commission takes stock of the extent to which, since 2012, citizens of the Union have exercised their right to vote in municipal elections in their Member State of residence.

This report is a follow-up to the 2017 EU citizenship report , in which the Commission called on Member States to promote participation in democratic life by better informing citizens of their electoral rights and removing obstacles to their participation. .

Awareness of the right to vote or stand as candidate in municipal elections : recent Eurobarometer surveys indicate that 87 % of EU citizens are familiar with the term "Citizen of the European Union". On average, 54 % of Union citizens know about their right to vote and stand as a candidate in municipal elections in their Member State of residence. This is a significant decrease compared to 2012 and can be observed in all Member States). While awareness of this right is substantially higher now than in 2007, when it was at its lowest level, it has declined in over half of Member States since 2010.

Of the more than 16 million mobile EU citizens in 2016, almost 14 million were of voting age and eligible to vote. They accounted for 3.25 % of the voting population.

The number of mobile EU citizens of voting age has increased significantly in many Member States since the 2012 report.

However, voter registration levels of EU mobile citizens on electoral lists for municipal elections remain low . In Member States where registration on the electoral roll is not automatic, the data provided showed that only 18.5 % of mobile EU citizens who were residents requested to be entered on the electoral rolls. The percentage of mobile EU citizens on the electoral rolls more than doubles to 51.2 % in Member States using automatic enrolment.

The report notes that the low number of Member States that could provide data makes it difficult to draw further conclusions. In addition, very little data is available on the number of EU citizens who stand as candidates for elections in a Member State of which they are not nationals.

Accordingly, the Commission considers that better data collection appears necessary . More quantitative and qualitative data on mobile EU citizens’ awareness and exercise of political rights and any difficulties they experience in participating in their local communities would help to address the low turn-out of mobile EU citizens. Furthermore, data on the number of mobile citizens is often only collected at national level, not at regional or local level . Yet such regional and local data are needed to assist targeted EU policymaking and raise the visibility of mobile EU citizens among local stakeholders.

Derogation s: the Directive allows Member States to restrict a number of offices in the local administration to its own nationals, namely head, deputy or member of the governing college of the executive of a basic local government unit. In addition, a Member State where the proportion of mobile EU citizens of voting age exceeds 20 % of the total electorate can require both voters and candidates to have a minimum period of residence. Luxembourg is the only Member State that uses this derogation.

Restrictions on mobile EU citizens holding executive posts in their local administrations are slowly diminishing in the Member States.

The Commission feels that Luxembourg ’s request to continue its derogation under the

Directive remains warranted. It will also take the necessary steps to amend the Annex to the Directive, updating the list of national definitions of a basic local government unit in the light of recent changes in some Member States.

Lastly, although many issues have been resolved, the Commission continues to monitor the implementation of the Directive and is continuing discussions with a few Member States.

Next steps : the Commission intends to take the following measures:

better knowledge : the Commission will run a special Eurobarometer survey on democratic participation of mobile EU citizens in 2018 and will seek to improve the collection of regional-level demographic data for mobile EU citizens; inform and raise awareness by incorporating information on EU citizenship rights, including electoral rights, in its information campaigns. The Commission will actively promote the ‘Your Europe’ portal, where EU citizens will find easily accessible information on the electoral formalities in their resident Member State; making the voting process easier : automatic registration of voters will be promoted. A study on remote voting (including postal and e-voting) will be completed in 2018. A high-level event on democratic participation will be organised in 2018; engaging stakeholders : the Commission intends to cooperate with the Committee of the Regions and its network of regional and local authorities to promote activities that increase participation in political life. It will address the issue of political participation of mobile EU citizens, including those with disabilities or belonging to minorities, as part of its high-level event on democratic matters in 2018. Lastly, it will continue to use the rights, equality and citizenship programme to fund projects promoting the successful inclusion and participation of mobile EU citizens in their host countries.

COM(2018)0044
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COM(2012)0099

In accordance with the requirements of Directive 94/80/EC, the Commission presents a report on the application of Directive on 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.

The previous report on the transposition and implementation of the Directive was adopted by the Commission in 2002. This report touches upon the broader issue of participation in local democracy and assesses the state of transposition and implementation of the Directive in the Member States which were not yet members of the Union in 2002, when the first report was adopted. The report also assesses whether the grant of the derogation pursuant article 22(1) of the TFEU is still warranted. The last report on the derogation was adopted in 2005.

In most Member States, a turnout lower than 50% has been recorded in recent European elections. The trend is similar in many Member States as regards recent local elections. The Commission considers it essential to invert this trend in order to strengthen the link between voters and elected representatives and to enhance legitimacy of decisions taken by the latter. The report assesses the awareness and the use of the electoral rights of EU citizens in municipal elections and it focuses on the information measures put in place by the Member States in compliance with the provisions of the Directive. It also highlights best practices in the Member States in conducting information campaigns and initiatives to encourage EU citizens who are non-nationals to take part in institutional and political life at local level.

Awareness and participation : the majority of the citizens in the Member States are aware of the right to vote and to stand as a candidate in municipal elections in their Member State of residence. The awareness of electoral rights at the local level has increased significantly in four years in all Member States. At EU level, the average percentage of the citizens who are aware of such rights has almost doubled from 37% (2007) to 69% (2010).

Generally, however, data on the turnout in local elections reveal a tendency for political disaffection of the citizens. Remedying the 'democratic deficit' remains a challenge for the Member States and the European institutions as well as for the elected local authorities across the Union.

The report states that, comparing data provided in the first report with data gathered through a questionnaire in 2011, the number of EU citizens of voting age residing in a Member State other than their own has increased from 4.7 million (2000) to 8 million (2010), mainly due to enlargement of the EU. Despite this significant increase in the number of non-nationals EU citizens of voting age who reside in a Member State other than their own, only a relatively low number of these citizens actually exercised their electoral rights in the municipal elections that have been held in recent years in their State of residence.

In order to participate in municipal elections, the individual has to be registered on the electoral roll. The detailed procedures for registration vary from one Member State to another. In those Member States where registration is not automatic, the data provided show that only an average of 10% of resident non-national EU citizens asked to be entered on the electoral rolls . No data are available on the percentage of the resident non-national EU citizens who actually voted after being entered on the electoral rolls.

The report notes that renewed efforts must be made to provide citizens with targeted information about their electoral rights and the administrative procedures to be fulfilled to exercise them. All initiatives aimed at strengthening awareness of electoral rights and at encouraging participation in local elections are to be considered as a useful and effective support, including participation in the programmes managed by the Commission, as above indicated in chapter.

Transposition and implementation : on the basis of the national transposition measures communicated by the Member States, the level of transposition of the Directive in the legislation of all the Member States can be considered satisfactory. Nevertheless, some issues of incorrect or incomplete transposition, detailed in the report, have to be addressed in order to avoid incorrect implementation, which would represent an obstacle to the full exercise of electoral rights.

Derogation: Luxembourg is the only Member State that has availed itself of the derogation by restricting the right to vote to non-national EU citizens who have had their legal domicile in the territory of Luxembourg and have resided in the territory for at least five years before registration. The report states that the granting of a derogation to Luxembourg is still warranted since the proportion of non-national EU citizens to the total number of EU citizens of voting age is 42.9%, beyond the threshold of 20% set by Directive.

Future action : the Commission will continue working in close cooperation with the Member States in order to monitor the correct transposition and implementation of the Directive and to help Member States adopt all the necessary measures to ensure the full exercise of electoral rights, while removing obstacles to the right to be informed in good time and in an appropriate manner of their electoral rights. The proposal for an European Year for Citizens in 2013 represents a real opportunity to enhance the efforts to encourage participation at elections, with the involvement of the interested national and local authorities, as well as key stakeholders shaping the political life of the Member States and their citizens.

To this end, the Commission intends to make use of an informal platform of cooperation aimed at facilitating a direct dialogue between the Commission, the Committee of the Regions and national associations of local and regional authorities. This platform will allow the Commission to identify any ongoing difficulties encountered by local authorities in implementing EU citizens' electoral rights and to directly draw on the ideas and expertise of these authorities and the best practices they have developed, with a view to enhancing the effective exercise of these rights on the ground.

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COM(2012)0099

COM(2002)0260
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Directive 1994/80
OJ L 368 31.12.1994, p. 0038

OJ C 323 21.11.1994, p. 0039-0075
T4-0058/1994

Debate in Parliament

T4-0058/1994

A4-0011/1994
OJ C 323 21.11.1994, p. 0005

A4-0011/1994

CDR0181/1994
OJ C 210 14.08.1995, p. 0051

CES1026/1994
OJ C 393 31.12.1994, p. 0186

EUR-Lex
OJ C 105 13.04.1994, p. 0008
COM(1994)0038

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COM(1994)0038