The Twenty-Seven have a two-year margin to simplify the procedure for registering EU citizens living in a Member State other than their nationality who wish to vote or run as candidates in municipal elections, also ensuring that they can access the same forms of voting as nationals.
This was detailed by the Community Executive in a statement, in which it specifies that Member States will have until June 28, 2028, to incorporate the revision of the directive into their internal legal systems. The aim is to simplify the registration of both voters and candidates for local office and to ensure that EU citizens residing in another EU country can use all voting methods, including, for example, postal voting.
The updated regulation, approved by the Twenty-Seven last May, seeks to remove the obstacles still encountered by so-called "mobile" European citizens, such as the lack of clear information on how to exercise suffrage, excessively complicated registration procedures, or the risk of being automatically removed from the census in their country of origin when registering in the electoral register of their country of residence.
Among the most relevant changes in the directive, whose initial proposal dates back to 2021, is the obligation for Member States to offer "proactive" information on voting rights and registration requirements, including informative translations into languages widely understood within the Union.
"Local elections are at the heart of democratic participation in community life. Citizens who have built their lives in another Member State must have a voice, without unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles," defended the Executive Vice-President of the Commission for Technological Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, Henna Virkkunen, in statements collected in the communiqué.
In her opinion, the update of this regulation ensures that European Union citizens who settle in other Community States "can exercise their electoral rights without obstacles."
The Commissioner for Democracy, Justice, and Rule of Law, Michael McGrath, spoke along the same lines, emphasizing that the right to vote and participate in municipal elections "is a cornerstone of EU citizenship."
"There are 14 million mobile EU citizens in the Union. Today's entry into force will ensure that all of them can exercise their voting rights freely and without obstacles, something essential for our democracies," he highlighted.