EU countries must allow EU residents to join political parties, top court rules
Poland and the Czech Republic will have to allow EU citizens who live on their territory to join political parties following a ruling by the EU Court of Justice this week.
Both countries currently restrict the right to found or join a party to their own nationals, thus denying residents from other EU member states the possibility to participate in elections if not as independent candidates.
This breaches the principle of equal treatment and undermines the right to stand as candidates in municipal and European elections guaranteed under EU citizenship rules, the EU top court said.
The European Commission launched a legal action against Czechia in 2012 and against Poland in 2013. Both countries stood by their laws, saying they were in line with EU Treaties. In 2021, the EU executive decided to refer them to the EU Court of Justice.
The EU top court ruled this week that the situation constitutes a “difference in treatment on grounds of nationality” prohibited by EU law.
“Political parties play a crucial role in the system of representative democracy, which gives concrete expression to democracy as one of the values on which the European Union is founded. Consequently, the prohibition on being a member of a political party places those EU citizens in a less favourable position than Czech and Polish nationals as regards the ability to stand as a candidate in municipal and European elections,” the Court said.
‘National identity’
Against the arguments brought by Poland, EU judges also clarified that EU residents’ membership “of a political party “cannot be justified by the objective of avoiding any interference in domestic affairs and any undermining of national identity”.
“Membership of a political party is one of the factors steering voters in their choice. That difference in treatment, which is prohibited by EU law, cannot be justified on grounds relating to respect for national identity,” as it refers to “principles which are an integral part of the identity and common values of the European Union, to which the Member States adhere”.
On the other hand, the judges added, “EU law does not require Member States to grant the EU citizens concerned the right to vote and to stand as a candidate in national elections, nor does it prohibit them from limiting the role played by those citizens in a political party in the context of those elections”.
Under EU rules, EU citizens who live in another EU member state can vote and stand as a candidate in municipal and European elections. However, there are still many obstacles to the full exercise of such rights. For instance, several countries restrict the role of mayor, vice-mayor or councillor to their own nationals.
Claudia Delpero @ Europe Street News, all rights reserved
Image by Jaromír Čižinský from Pixabay
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