Electoral rights of mobile Union citizens in European Parliament elections

2021/0372(CNS)

The Committee on Constitutional Affairs adopted (following a special legislative procedure) the report by Sven SIMON (EPP, DE) on the proposal for a Council directive laying down detailed arrangements for the exercise of the right to vote and stand as a candidate in elections to the European Parliament for Union citizens residing in a Member State of which they are not nationals (recast).

The committee recommended that Parliament approve the Council's draft as adapted to the recommendations of the Consultative Working Party of the legal services of the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission. The Commission's proposal does not contain any substantive amendments other than those identified as such in the proposal. As regards the codification of the unchanged provisions of previous acts with these amendments, the proposal is limited to a straightforward codification of existing acts, without changing their substance.

Members strongly deplored the Council's failure to meaningfully address the content of Parliament's opinion, stressing that this practice is indicative of a broader trend that has been evident for some years, namely that the Council and the European Council are refusing to cooperate constructively and in good faith in a number of ongoing special legislative procedures.

Members recalled the recommendations contained in Parliament's report of 13 December 2023 and reiterated their call on the Council and the European Council to work together constructively to find political solutions that are in the interest of European citizens.