What changed between the draft committee report and the plenary report

Added:Recital 6: (6) In order to ensure that Union citizens who reside in a Member State of which they are not nationals (“non-national Union citizens”) are able to exercise their right to vote and to stand as candidates in elections to the European Parliament under the same conditions as nationals of their host Member State, the conditions governing registration and participation in such elections should be clarified in order to ensure equal treatment between national and non-national Union citizens. In particular, Union citizens seeking to vote and to stand as candidates in elections to the European Parliament in their Member State of residence should be treated equally to nationals of that Member State as regards any periods of residence that are to be fulfilled as a condition for the exercise of the right, as well the proofs for demonstrating compliance with such a condition.

Added:Recital 6 a (new): (6a) Non-national Union citizens should receive information about the possibility of voting or standing as a candidate upon registration as residents of a Member State of which they are not nationals. Information pertaining to the registration as a voter or as a candidate should also be provided periodically, ahead of European elections, in a timely manner, to all voters and persons entitled to stand as candidates in accordance with the conditions governing the right to vote and stand as a candidate provided for in this Directive. Moreover, non-national Union citizens should be duly informed upon registration as voters and sufficiently in advance of the elections about their specific rights under the European electoral system.

Added:Recital 7: (7) Given that most Member States allow non-national Union citizens to retain under national law their right to vote for a home country list, the possibility to choose between two or more countries to vote in requires clear information provision for non-national Union citizens and coordination among Member States to reduce the risk of multiple voting. The freedom of Union citizens to choose the Member State in which to take part in elections to the European Parliament should be respected, while the appropriate measures to ensure that no one may vote more than once or stand as a candidate in more than one country. When receiving information about the possibility of voting or standing as a candidate in their Member State of residence, non-national Union citizens should be duly informed of the possibility to vote or stand as candidate either in their home country or in their country of residence, in line with their choice and the respective applicable national provisions. Non-national Union citizens should make the final choice of the Member State in which they would like to vote.

Added:Recital 8: (8) In line with International and European standards, including, the requirements of International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the law of the European Convention on Human Rights, Member States should not only recognize and respect the right of Union citizens to vote and to stand as a candidate but also make access to their electoral rights as democratic, proportionate and as easy as possible by removing all obstacles to participation in elections.

Added:Recital 9: (9) In order to facilitate the exercise by Union citizens of their right to vote and to stand as a candidate in their country of residence, immediate registration as a voter should be possible upon their registration as residents subject to their consent. Those citizens must receive prior information regarding this immediate registration, notably on the fact that double voting is prohibited and immediate registration could imply deregistrationfrom the electoral roll for the European elections of their place of origin. Where immediate registration as voters has not occurred upon their registration as residents, citizens should be entered on the electoral roll in sufficient time in advance of polling day. The formalities applicable to their registration should be as simple as possible. It should be sufficient for the Union citizens concerned to produce a valid identity card and, in duly justified cases, a formal and user-friendly declaration that includes elements evidencing their entitlement to participate in the elections. Once registered, non-national Union citizens should remain on the electoral roll under the same conditions as Union citizens who are nationals of the Member State concerned, for as long as they satisfy the conditions for exercising the right to vote. Additionally, Union citizens should provide the competent authorities with contact information, enabling those authorities to keep them informed on a regular basis.

Added:Recital 11: (11) In order to ensure equal treatment of non-national Union citizens seeking to exercise the right to stand as candidates for election in their Member State of residence, such citizens should be required to produce the same supporting documents as those required from candidates who are nationals of the Member State concerned. However, in order to establish that such citizens are beneficiaries of the right laid down in Article 20(2)(b) and Article 22(2) TFEU, in duly justified cases, Member States should be able to require the production of a formal declaration that includes elements necessary to evidence their entitlement to stand in the elections in question.

Added:Recital 11 a (new): (11a) To enable Union citizens residing in a Member State of which they are not nationals to be eligible in practice for election to the European Parliament, national political parties should be encouraged not to make membership conditional on having the nationality of that Member State.

Added:Recital 12: (12) In order to facilitate the accurate identification of voters and candidates registered both in their home Member State and in their Member State of residence, the list of data to be required from Union citizens, at the time of immediate registration or after the submission of an application to enter the electoral rolls or to stand as candidates in the Member State of residence, should include the personal identification number or the serial number of a valid identity or travel document.

Added:Recital 13: (13) Union citizens who have been deprived of their right to vote and to stand as candidates, on the basis of an individual civil law or criminal law decision taken by the competent authority, should be precluded from exercising that right in the Member State of residence in elections to the European Parliament. Upon immediate registration or when receiving an application for registration as a voter, Member States may, in duly justified cases, require from the citizen concerned a formal declaration confirming that they have not been deprived of their right to vote. When they stand as candidates in their country of residence, it should be possible for the country of residence to require that Union citizens produce a statement confirming that they have not been deprived of the right to stand in the elections to the European Parliament.

Added:Recital 16: (16) In order to prevent multiple voting or instances where the same person would stand as a candidate more than once at the same elections, Member States need to coordinate their administrative systems in a coherent manner. For this reason, Member States should be required to exchange information gathered from the formal declarations produced by non-national Union voters and non-national Union citizens entitled to stand as candidates in a Member State of residence. As Member States rely on different data to identify citizens, a common set of data should be envisaged in order to accurately identify Union voters and Union citizens entitled to stand as candidates and stop them from voting or standing as a candidate more than once. The personal data exchanged should be limited to the minimum necessary to achieve these purposes.

Added:Recital 17: (17) The information exchange between Member States to prevent multiple voting or instances where the same person would stand as a candidate more than once at the same election should not prevent their nationals from voting or standing as candidates in other types of elections. To facilitate communication between national authorities, Member States should be required to designate one contact point for that information exchange. A secure tool was developed by the Commission to be used by the Member States under their responsibility to exchange the necessary data. That secure tool should be incorporated in this Directive, to further support exchanges between Member States’ competent authorities. Member States will act as separate controllers for their processing of personal data in this regard.

Added:Recital 20: (20) The lack of adequate information, in the context of electoral procedures, affects citizens in the exercise of their electoral rights as part of their rights as Union citizens. It also affects the capacity of competent authorities to exercise their rights and to deliver on their obligations. Member States should be required to designate authorities with special responsibilities for providing appropriate information to Union citizens on their rights under Article 20(2), point (b), and Article 22(2) TFEU and the national rules and procedures regarding participation in and the organization of elections to the European Parliament. In order to encourage non-national Union citizens to actively seek such information, Member States should also ensure that it is made widely available through a wide range of channels, including through targeted cooperation projects between civil society organisations, the designated national authorities and, in the event of its establishment, the European electoral authority. In order to ensure the effectiveness of communications, information should be provided in clear and comprehensible terms and in a timely manner, taking into account the dates on which electoral rolls are to be closed and on which the lists of candidates are to be announced in accordance with the Act concerning the election of the members of the European Parliament by direct universal suffrage.

Added:Recital 20 a (new): (20a) In order to foster the democratic participation of non-national Union citizens, Member States should provide appropriate, clear and inclusive information to Union citizens on the right to vote and on the possible administrative steps to exercise that right, as well as on the electoral cultures and voting systems. Such information should be provided when the residence of non-national Union citizens is registered, either immediately or upon request, later on, and sufficiently in advance of European elections. Special attention should also be paid to the needs of vulnerable citizens, such as people with disabilities and elderly people;.

Added:Recital 21: (21) In order to improve the accessibility of electoral information, such essential information on electoral rights should be made available in a clear and inclusive manner, and well ahead of the elections, in at least one other official language of the Union than that or those of the host Member State, broadly understood by the largest possible number of Union citizens residing on its territory. Member States should be encouraged to provide information also in the native language of the non-national Union citizen. Member States may use different official languages of the Union in specific parts of their territory or their regions depending on the language understood by the largest group of Union citizens residing therein.

Added:Recital 22: deleted

Added:Recital 23: deleted

Added:Recital 24: deleted

Added:Recital 26: (26) Data regarding the exercise of rights and the application of this Directive is critical in the evaluation of the relevant Union policy and identification of measures necessary to ensure the effective exercise of Union citizens’ electoral rights. In order to increase and improve the collection and reporting of data for elections to the European Parliament by Member States, it is necessary to introduce regular monitoring and reporting of implementation by Member States on the basis of common indicators. In parallel, the Commission should assess the application of this Directive, and submit a report including such an assessment to the European Parliament and to the Council, after each election to the European Parliament.

Added:Recital 27: (27) It is necessary that the Commission conduct its own evaluation of the application of this Directive no later than 18 months after each election to the European Parliament, followed, if appropriate, by a legislative proposal to amend this Directive.

Added:Recital 28: (28) In order to ensure that the templates of the formal declarations to be submitted by non-national Union citizens seeking to vote or stand in elections to the European Parliament continue to contain relevant data in the context of the exercise of electoral rights by Union citizens, the power to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 290 TFEU should be delegated to the Commission to amend those templates. In order to increase and improve the collection and reporting of data by Member States for elections to the European Parliament, the power to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 290 TFEU should be delegated to the Commission to supplement this Directive by establishing a template and the form of the data to be collected for the purposes of Article 17(1). It is of particular importance that the Commission carry out appropriate consultations during its preparatory work, including at expert level, and that those consultations be conducted in accordance with the principles laid down in the Interinstitutional Agreement on Better Law-Making of 13 April 2016. In particular, to ensure equal participation in the preparation of delegated acts, the European Parliament and the Council receive all documents at the same time as Member States' experts, and their experts systematically have access to meetings of Commission expert groups dealing with the preparation of delegated acts.

Added:Recital 29: (29) The Member States, by ratifying, and the Union, by concluding27 , the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities have committed themselves to ensure compliance with that Convention, in particular Article 29 thereof. In order to support inclusive and equal electoral participation for persons with disabilities, arrangements for Union citizens residing in a Member State of which they are not nationals to exercise the right to vote and to stand as a candidate there in elections to the European Parliament should have due regard to the needs of citizens with a disability and older citizens. In particular, Member States should implement appropriate arrangements tailored to their national voting procedures to facilitate voting by citizens with disabilities, such as the possibility to choose polling stations, closed polling stations in key locations, and the use of assistive technologies, formats and techniques like Braille, large print, audio-based information, tactile stencils, easy to read information and sign language communication. Furthermore, Member States should consider introducing complementary tools to facilitate voting, such as advance physical voting and proxy voting, as well as electronic and online voting.

Added:Recital 29 a (new): (29a) Member States should, ahead of the elections to the European Parliament, foster awareness and information campaigns while improving accessibility requirements for people with disabilities, elderly and vulnerable people.

Added:Recital 29 b (new): (29b) Member States should guarantee that prisoners who are granted the right to vote in accordance with national laws, including when they are in a Member State of which they are not nationals, are able to exercise those voting rights.

Added:Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point a: (a) the person who, on the reference date, is a Union citizen within the meaning of Article 20 (1) TFEU and regardless of their legal capacity;

Added:Necessary for internal coherence and in accordance with the principle of non-discrimination. It is specifically linked to recital 29, which falls under the recast procedure and where it is stated that in European Parliament elections due regard should be had to the needs of citizens with a disability. It is inextricably linked, because it further defines how Member States should ensure there is due regard for the needs of citizens with a disability in European Parliament elections.

Added:Article 4 – paragraph 1: 1. Union voters shall have the right to choose to exercise their right to vote either in the Member State of residence or in their home Member State. No person may vote more than once at the same election.

Added:In line with AM26 of the rapporteur. Necessary for the internal coherence. The conditions governing registration and participation should be clarified in order to make sure that the non-national Union citizens have the final say in its electoral roll.

Added:Article 6 – paragraph 1: 1. Union citizens who reside in a Member State of which they are not nationals and who, through an individual judicial decision or an administrative decision provided that the latter can be subject to judicial remedies, have been deprived of their right to stand as a candidate under either the law of the Member State of residence or the law of the home Member State, shall be precluded from exercising that right in the Member State of residence in elections to the European Parliament. However, decisions on deprivation of legal capacity due to disability taken by the home Member State shall not make Union citizens ineligible to stand as a candidate in elections to the European Parliament in their Member State of residence if the law of that Member State upholds that right for all persons with disabilities without restrictions.

Added:Article 6 – paragraph 5: 5. Member States shall designate a contact point to receive and transmit the information necessary for the application of paragraph 3. They shall communicate to the Commission the name and contact details of the contact point and any updated information in the case of changes concerning it. The Commission shall keep a list of contact points and make it available to the Member States.

Added:Article 8 – paragraph 2 a (new): 2a. Immediate registration of non-national Union citizens as voters shall be possible.

Added:Article 8 – paragraph 2 b (new): 2b. When registering as residents, non-national Union citizens shall have the possibility to express their wish to be registered as voters in their Member State of residence and shall be informed about the possibility to stand as a candidate and submit an application in this regard. / Should non-national Union citizens choose not to express their wish to be registered as voters in their Member State of residence at the moment of their registration as residents, they shall retain the right to do so afterwards. When providing information about the possibility of voting or standing as a candidate, Member States shall duly inform non-national Union citizens that they may vote or stand as candidates either in their home Member State or in their Member State of residence, dependent on their own choice.

Added:Article 9 – paragraph 1: 1. Member States shall take the necessary measures to enable a Union voter who has expressed the wish to be registered as a voter to be entered on the electoral roll no later than 14 weeks before polling day. Member States shall enable registration as soon as the voter concerned is registered as a resident.

Added:Article 9 – paragraph 3 – point c a (new): (ca) if they so wish, indicate the language in which they would like to receive the information referred to in Article 12(2);

Added:Article 9 – paragraph 4: 4. Union voters who have been entered on the electoral roll shall remain thereon, under the same conditions as voters who are nationals, until such time as they request to be removed or until they are removed because they no longer satisfy the requirements for exercising the right to vote. Where provisions are in place to notify nationals of such a removal from the electoral roll, these provisions shall apply to Union voters as well. Notifications shall be provided in an official language of the Union understandable to the Union voters in question.

Added:Article 10 – paragraph 2 a (new): 2a. National authorities shall ensure that the democratic, proportionate and transparent standards which apply to national Union citizens when submitting a list of candidates also apply to non-national Union citizen candidates.

Added:Article 11 – paragraph 1: 1. The Member State of residence shall inform the persons concerned, in a timely manner, in clear and plain language, and in an official language of the Union understandable to them, of the decision taken concerning their immediate registration or their application for entry on the electoral roll or of the decision concerning the admissibility of their application to stand as a candidate, including the possibilities to appeal those decisions.

Added:Article 11 – paragraph 3: 3. In the case of errors in the electoral rolls or in the lists of candidates to the European Parliament, the persons concerned shall be informed thereof in a timely manner and shall be entitled to legal remedies on similar terms as the laws of the Member State of residence prescribe for voters and persons entitled to stand as candidates who are its nationals.

Added:Article 11 – paragraph 4: 4. Member States shall inform the persons concerned of the decision referred to in paragraph 1 and of the legal remedies referred to in paragraphs 2 and 3 clearly in a timely manner, and in an official language of the Union understandable to them.

Added:Article 12 – paragraph 1: 1. Member States shall designate a national authority with responsibility for taking the necessary measures to ensure that non-national Union citizens are informed in a timely manner of the conditions and detailed rules for registration as a voter or candidate in elections to the European Parliament as soon as they register as residents of a Member State of which they are not nationals, as well as periodically, ahead of European elections taking into account the deadlines established for the announcement of the lists of candidates. That information shall indicate that citizens have the choice to register in their Member State of residence or remain registered in their home Member State, according to their preferences. / The designated authority shall provide those concerned with a copy of the standardised templates for the formal declarations set out in Annexes I and II that non-national Union citizens are required to submit in order to register as voters or candidates.

Added:Article 12 – paragraph 2 – point d a (new): (da) the specific measures taken to facilitate the exercise of the right to vote by vulnerable and marginalised groups of voters, such as persons with disabilities.

Added:Article 12 – paragraph 2 a (new): 2a. Member States shall make efforts to actively involve civil society organisations in raising public awareness concerning the information referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2, as well as in encouraging non-national Union citizens to actively seek such information as often as they need it. Member States should ensure that sufficient financial resources are set aside for this purpose.

Added:Article 12 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 1: 3. The information on conditions and detailed rules for registration as a voter or candidate in elections to the European Parliament and the information referred to in paragraph 2 shall be provided in clear and plain language in accordance with the quality requirements set out in Article 9 of Regulation (EU)2018/1724 of the European Parliament and of the Council1a. / 1a Regulation (EU) 2018/1724 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 2 October 2018 establishing a single digital gateway to provide access to information, to procedures and to assistance and problem-solving services and amending Regulation (EU) No 1024/2012 (OJ L 295, 21.11.2018, p. 1).

Added:Article 12 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 2: The information referred to in the first subparagraph shall be provided in an official language of the Union that is understandable to the Union voter or candidate in question. / (deleted)

Added:Article 12 – paragraph 4: 4. Member States shall ensure that information on conditions and detailed rules for registration as a voter or candidate in elections to the European Parliament and information referred to in paragraph 2 are made accessible to vulnerable and marginalised groups, such as persons with disabilities, older persons, homeless people and persons in prison who enjoy their voting rights, by applying the accessibility requirements laid down in Annex I of Directive (EU) 2019/882 of the European Parliament and of the Council1a and by using appropriate means, modes and formats of communication, such as Braille, large print, audio-based information, tactile stencils, easy to read information and sign language. / 1a Directive (EU) 2019/882 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2019 on the accessibility requirements for products and services (OJ L 151, 7.6.2019, p. 70).

Added:Article 12 – paragraph 4 a (new): 4a. Persons entitled to vote and stand as candidates pursuant to Article 3 and who have established their residence in a Member State, shall automatically receive information about their rights under this Directive. That information shall also be provided to them periodically and sufficiently ahead of the elections to the European Parliament.

Added:Article 13 – paragraph 1: 1. Member States shall exchange the information required for the implementation of Article 4, sufficiently in advance of polling day. To that end, the Member State of residence shall begin supplying the home Member State, no later than 16 weeks before the first day of the electoral period referred to in Article 10(1) of the Act concerning the election of the members of the European Parliament by direct universal suffrage the set of information provided in Annex III. The home Member State shall, in accordance with its national legislation, take appropriate measures to ensure that its nationals do not vote more than once or stand as candidates in more than one Member State.

Added:Article 14 – paragraph 1: Member States shall consider the introduction of complementary voting tools such as postal voting, advance physical voting, proxy voting, mobile polling stations for voters who are unable to go to the polling stations on election day and electronic and online voting, in elections to the European Parliament. Member States shall ensure the availability of those voting methods to Union voters under the same conditions as the ones applicable to their own nationals.

Added:Article 15 – paragraph 1: Member States shall designate an authority with responsibility for collecting and providing to the public and the Commission relevant statistical data based on common indicators on the participation of Union citizens who are not nationals in elections to the European Parliament.

Added:Article 16: deleted / (deleted) / (deleted) / (deleted) / (deleted) / (deleted) / (deleted) / (deleted) / (deleted) / (deleted)

Added:Article 16 a (new): Article 16 a / The exercise of the right of non-national Union citizens to vote and stand as candidates in the elections to the European Parliament shall apply to all electoral lists and constituencies established by the Act concerning the election of the members of the European Parliament by direct universal suffrage, including in the event of the establishment of a Union-wide constituency, in order to ensure that the principle of non-discrimination is upheld.

Added:Article 17 – title: Data collection and reporting

Added:Article 17 – paragraph 1: 1. Within six months after each election to the European Parliament Member States shall send information to the Commission on the application of this Directive in their territory. In addition to general observations, the report shall contain statistical data on the participation in elections to the European Parliament of Union voters and Union citizens entitled to stand as candidates and a detailed overview of the measures taken to support it, based on common indicators. Member States shall also provide detailed information on the effectiveness of exchanges among them to prevent double voting.

Added:Article 17 – paragraph 2 a (new): 2a. The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 20 establishing a template and the form of the data to be collected for the purposes of paragraph 1 of this Article.

Added:Article 18 – paragraph 1: Within 18 months after each election to the European Parliament, the Commission shall assess the application of this Directive and produce an evaluation report on the progress towards achievement of the objectives contained herein. The evaluation shall also include a review on the functioning of Article 13. The evaluation shall be followed, if appropriate, by a legislative proposal to amend this Directive.

Added:Article 20 – paragraph 3: 3. The delegation of power referred to in Articles 9, 10 and 13 and Article 17(2a) may be revoked at any time by the Council. A decision to revoke shall put an end to the delegation of the power specified in that decision. It shall take effect the day following the publication of the decision in the Official Journal of the European Union or at a later date specified therein. It shall not affect the validity of any delegated acts already in force.

Added:Article 20 – paragraph 6: 6. A delegated act adopted pursuant to Articles 9, 10 and 13 and Article 17(2a) shall enter into force only if no objection has been expressed by the Council within a period of two months of notification of that act to the European Parliament and the Council or if, before the expiry of that period, the Council has informed the Commission that it will not object. That period shall be extended by two months at the initiative of the Council.

Added:Annex I – row 4 a (new): Language preferences in which you want to receive information related to the elections.

Added:Annex II – paragraph 4: I have not been deprived of the right to stand as a candidate in my home Member State1a. / 1a Only if also required from nationals of the Member State of residence

Added:Necessary to ensure coherence in the text.