Vergemakkelijken van het stemmen voor het EP in het buitenland (en)

MEPs adopted a report on a Commission proposal that would make it easier for EU citizens to stand or vote in European Parliament elections while living in Member States other than their own. The report was drafted by Andrew Duff MEP. The consultation report also inserts two new provisions to improve the portability of electoral rights within the EU: one on multiple candidatures and the other on deprivation of electoral rights.

First, the House proposes abolishing the current prohibition on standing for election in more than one Member State, provided that the country of residence permits multiple candidatures. Second, it seeks to ensure that the country of residence is not automatically obliged to prevent a citizen from voting if he or she has been deprived of his or her electoral rights in another Member State. MEPs feel that in both cases, it should be up to the Member States concerned to decide, case by case, so as to prevent discrimination.

Boosting turnout

Rapporteur Andrew Duff (ALDE, UK, East of England, Liberal Democrat) believes that the present system discourages people from exercising their electoral rights as EU citizens, and notes that the turnout in European Parliamentary elections fell from 63% in 1979 to 46% in 2004. The committee hopes that by amending the proposal, it can boost the number of people choosing to exercise their electoral rights to the full. 

Andrew Duff said: "Parliament supports the proposals to simplify and to promote the arrangements whereby EU citizens can vote and stand for the European elections in countries other than their own.

"However, the original Council directive was too restrictive in seeking to ban dual candidacies. It is high time that the EU encouraged cross-border democracy."

No discrimination

The committee report aims to "make sure that all Member States respect equal opportunities for all EU citizens", noted Mr Duff. EU citizenship, which confers certain electoral rights, was established by the Maastricht Treaty of 1993. This stipulates that any citizen has the right to stand and vote in European Parliament elections in the Member State where he or she resides, under the same conditions as nationals of that state.

Information exchange isn't working

The Commission's proposal aims to ease the administrative obstacles that an EU citizen faces when voting or standing for the European Parliament election in a Member State other than his own. In particular, it proposes abolishing the information exchange system currently used by Member States' electoral authorities, on the grounds that it has proven too cumbersome to work properly.