EU ministers have adopted updated rules intended to strengthen the right of EU citizens living in another member state to vote and stand as candidates in local elections.
The changes apply to “mobile EU citizens” — people who live in an EU country other than the one whose nationality they hold — and focus on making it easier to access information and register to vote in municipal elections, the Council of the EU announced on Tuesday.
The updated directive requires member states to provide more proactive information about electoral rights and registration conditions, including translations in widely understood EU languages.
It also introduces simplified registration requirements designed to make processes more accessible and more consistent across member states.
Safeguards are included to prevent people from being automatically removed from the electoral roll in their country of origin when they register to vote in their country of residence.
Marilena Raouna, Cyprus’s deputy minister for European affairs, said freedom of movement “must go hand in hand with the full and equal ability to participate in democratic life.”
When the changes will apply
The directive will be published in the EU’s Official Journal and will enter into force 20 days later, the Council said.
Member states will then have two years from the date it takes effect to bring most of the rules into national law.
EU treaties and the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights already give EU citizens the right to vote and stand in local elections in their country of residence under the same conditions as that country’s nationals, with detailed arrangements adopted by the Council after consulting the European Parliament.
