Council Directive (EU) 2026/1194 of 26 May 2026 laying down detailed arrangements for the exercise of the right to vote and to stand as a candidate in municipal elections for Union citizens residing in a Member State of which they are not nationals (recast)

• CELEX: Directive (EU) 2026/1194
• Articles: 23

Article 1 Subject matter and scope

1.   This Directive lays down the detailed arrangements whereby Union citizens residing in a Member State of which they are not nationals (‘non-national Union citizens’) may exercise the right to vote and to stand as a candidate there in municipal elections.

2.   Nothing in this Directive shall affect any Member State’s provisions concerning the right to vote or to stand as a candidate either of its nationals who reside outside its territory or of third-country nationals who reside in that Member State.

Article 2 Definitions

1.   For the purposes of this Directive, the following definitions apply:

(a)

‘basic local government unit’ means an administrative entity as listed in Annex I which, in accordance with the laws of the relevant Member State, contains one or more bodies elected by direct universal suffrage and is empowered to administer, at the basic level of political and administrative organisation, certain local affairs under its own responsibility;

(b)

‘municipal elections’ means elections by direct universal suffrage to appoint the members of the representative council and, where appropriate, under the laws of the relevant Member State, the head and members of the executive of a basic local government unit;

(c)

‘Member State of residence’ means the Member State in which a Union citizen resides but of which the Union citizen is not a national;

(d)

‘home Member State’ means the Member State of which a Union citizen is a national;

(e)

‘electoral roll’ means the official register of all voters entitled to vote in a given basic local government unit or in one of its subdivisions, drawn up and kept up to date by the competent authority under the electoral law of the Member State of residence, or the population register if it indicates eligibility to vote;

(f)

‘reference date’ means the day or the days on which Union citizens have to satisfy, under the law of the Member State of residence, the requirements for voting or for standing as a candidate in that Member State;

(g)

‘formal declaration’ means a declaration by the person concerned, inaccuracy in which makes that person liable to penalties, in accordance with the applicable national law.

2.   A Member State shall notify the Commission if any basic local government unit referred to in Annex I is, by virtue of a change in its domestic law, replaced by another unit having the functions referred to in paragraph 1, point (a), of this Article or if, by virtue of such a change, any such unit is abolished or further such units are created.

The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 16 concerning the amendment of Annex I on the basis of the notifications received pursuant to the first subparagraph of this paragraph.

Article 3 Conditions governing the right to vote and to stand as a candidate

Any person who, on the reference date:

(a)

is a Union citizen within the meaning of Article 20(1) TFEU; and

(b)

is not a national of the Member State of residence, but satisfies the same conditions in respect of the right to vote and to stand as a candidate as that Member State imposes by law on its own national,

shall have the right to vote and to stand as a candidate in municipal elections in the Member State of residence in accordance with this Directive.

Article 4 Residence period requirements

1.   If, in order to vote or to stand as candidates, nationals of the Member State of residence must have spent a certain minimum period as a resident in the territory of that Member State, persons entitled to vote and stand as candidates pursuant to Article 3 shall be deemed to have fulfilled that condition where they have resided for an equivalent period in other Member States.

2.   If, under the laws of the Member State of residence, its own nationals are able to vote or stand as candidates only in the basic local government unit in which they have their principal residence, persons entitled to vote and to stand as candidates pursuant to Article 3 shall also be subject to that condition.

3.   Paragraph 1 shall not affect:

(a)

the provisions of any Member State under which the exercise of the right to vote and to stand as a candidate in a given basic local government unit is subject to a minimum residence period in that unit;

(b)

any national provision already in force on the date of adoption of this Directive, whereby the exercise of such right to vote and to stand as a candidate is subject to a minimum residence period in the constituent part of the Member State of which the basic local government unit forms a part.

Article 5 Ineligibility

1.   Member States of residence may provide that non-national Union citizens who, through an individual decision under civil law or a criminal law decision, have been deprived of their right to stand as a candidate under the law of their home Member State shall be precluded from exercising that right in municipal elections.

2.   An application from any non-national Union citizen to stand as a candidate in municipal elections in the Member State of residence may be declared inadmissible where that citizen is unable to produce the declaration referred to in Article 9(2), point (a), or the attestation referred to in Article 9(2), point (b).

3.   Member States may provide that only their own nationals are able to hold the office of elected head, deputy or member of the governing college of the executive of a basic local government unit if elected to hold office for the duration of their mandate.

The Member States may also lay down that the temporary or interim performance of the functions of a head, deputy or member of the governing college of the executive of a basic local government unit may be restricted to their own nationals.

Having regard to the TFEU and to general legal principles, Member States may take appropriate, necessary and proportional measures to ensure that the offices referred to in the first subparagraph can be held, and the interim functions referred to in the second subparagraph can be performed, only by their own nationals.

4.   Member States may also provide that non-national Union citizens elected as members of a representative council are to take part in neither the designation of delegates who can vote in a parliamentary assembly nor the election of the members of that assembly.

Article 6 Incompatibility

1.   Persons entitled to stand as candidates pursuant to Article 3 shall be subject to the same conditions concerning incompatibility that apply, under the laws of the Member State of residence, to nationals of that Member State.

2.   Member States may provide that the holding of elected municipal office in the Member State of residence is also incompatible with the holding of offices in other Member States which are equivalent to those which give rise to incompatibility in the Member State of residence.

Article 7 Freedom to choose to vote in the Member State of residence

1.   Persons entitled to vote pursuant to Article 3 (‘voters pursuant to Article 3’) shall exercise their right to vote in municipal elections in the Member State of residence if they have expressed the wish to do so.

2.   If voting is compulsory in the Member State of residence, voters pursuant to Article 3 who have been entered on the electoral roll there shall also be obliged to vote.

3.   Member States where voting is not compulsory may provide for the automatic registration of voters pursuant to Article 3 on the electoral roll.

Article 8 Entry on and removal from the electoral roll

1.   Member States shall take the measures necessary to enable voters pursuant to Article 3 to be entered on the electoral roll sufficiently in advance of polling day.

2.   In order to have their name entered on the electoral roll, voters pursuant to Article 3 shall produce the same documents as voters who are nationals.

The Member State of residence may also require voters pursuant to Article 3 to produce a valid identity document, along with a formal declaration stating their name, nationality, date and place of birth and address in the electoral territory of the Member States of residence. The Member States may also require that the formal declaration include additional contact details such as a telephone number or email address.

3.   Voters pursuant to Article 3 who have been entered on an electoral roll in the Member State of residence shall remain thereon, under the same conditions as voters who are nationals, 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, those provisions shall apply to voters pursuant to Article 3 in the same way.

Voters who have been entered on the electoral roll at their request can also be removed from it if they so request.

If such voters move to another basic local government unit in the same Member State, they shall be entered on the electoral roll of that unit under the same conditions as voters who are nationals.

4.   Without prejudice to the rules of any Member State concerning the right to vote or to stand as a candidate of nationals who reside outside its territory, the fact that voters pursuant to Article 3 have been entered on the electoral roll of their Member State of residence shall not result in their removal from the electoral roll of the home Member State.

Article 9 Registration as a candidate

1.   When submitting an application to stand as candidates persons entitled to stand as candidates pursuant to Article 3 shall produce the same supporting documents as candidates who are nationals. The Member State of residence may require those persons to produce a valid identity document, along with a formal declaration stating their name, nationality, date and place of birth and address in the electoral territory of the Member States of residence.

2.   The Member State of residence may also require persons entitled to stand as candidates pursuant to of Article 3 to:

(a)

state in the formal declaration referred to in paragraph 1 that they have not been deprived of the right to stand as a candidate in their home Member State;

(b)

where there is doubt with regard to the content of the formal declaration as referred to in point (a),produce before or after the election an attestation from the competent administrative authorities in their home Member State certifying that they have not been deprived of the right to stand as a candidate in that Member State or that no such deprivation is known to those authorities;

(c)

state in the formal declaration referred to in paragraph 1 additional contact details such as a telephone number or email address;

(d)

state in the formal declaration referred to in paragraph 1 that they hold no office which is incompatible within the meaning of Article 6(2);

(e)

indicate their last address in their home Member State, insofar as they have had one.

Article 10 Specific means of voting

Member States that provide for the possibility for nationals to vote by means of advance voting, postal voting, or electronic or internet voting in municipal elections shall ensure that such means of voting are available to voters pursuant to Article 3 under the same conditions.

Article 11 Decision on registration and legal remedies

1.   The competent authorities of the Member State of residence shall inform the person concerned in a timely manner and in clear and plain language of the decision taken on that person’s application for entry on the electoral roll or of the decision concerning the admissibility of that person’s application to stand as a candidate. The notification of an application to stand as candidate may also be issued to an authorised representative.

2.   Should a non-national Union citizen not be entered on the electoral roll or an application of such a citizen for entry on the electoral roll be rejected or an application of such a citizen to stand as a candidate be rejected, the person concerned 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.

3.   In the event that there are errors in the electoral roll or in the list of candidates for municipal elections, the persons concerned 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.

Article 12 Provision of information

1.   Member States shall ensure that one or more authorities have the responsibility for taking the measures necessary 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 municipal elections.

2.   Member States shall ensure that the competent authorities pursuant to paragraph 1 make the following information available to registered Union voters pursuant to Article 3 and registered Union citizens entitled to stand as candidates pursuant to Article 3, in a timely manner:

(a)

the status of their registration upon request,

(b)

the date of the election and how and where to vote,

(c)

means of obtaining further information relating to the organisation of the election, including the list of candidates.

3.   The information on conditions and detailed rules for registration as a voter or candidate in municipal elections and the information referred to in paragraph 2 shall be made available in accordance with the quality requirements set out in Article 9(1) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1724 of the European Parliament and Council  ( 8 ) in one or more of the official languages of the Member State of residence.

General information on the organisation of elections, including the conditions for registration as a voter or candidate, the date of the election and how and where to vote, shall also be available in at least one other official language of the Union as referred to in Article 12(3) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1724 or that is broadly understood by Union citizens residing on the territory of the Member State of residence. Member States may request the Commission to provide assistance for such translations in accordance with Article 12 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1724. Such translations shall be purely informative and shall have no legal effect.

4.   Member States shall ensure that information on conditions and detailed rules for registration as a voter or candidate in municipal elections and information referred to in paragraph 2 are made accessible, in particular to persons with disabilities, by using appropriate means, modes and formats of communication.

Article 13 Derogations

1.   If, in a given Member State, the proportion of Union citizens of voting age who reside in it but are not nationals of it exceeds 20 % of the total number of national and non-national Union citizens residing there who are of voting age, that Member State may, by way of derogation from this Directive:

(a)

restrict the right to vote to voters pursuant to Article 3 who have resided in that Member State for a minimum period, which may not be longer than the term for which the representative council of the municipality is elected;

(b)

restrict the right to stand as a candidate to persons entitled to stand as candidates pursuant to Article 3 who have resided in that Member State for a minimum period, which may not be longer than twice the term for which the representative council of the municipality is elected; and

(c)

take appropriate measures with regard to the composition of lists of candidates to encourage in particular the integration of non-national Union citizens.

2.   The Kingdom of Belgium may, by way of derogation from the provisions of this Directive, apply the provisions of paragraph 1, point (a), to a limited number of local government units, the list of which it shall communicate at least one year before the local government unit elections for which it intends to invoke the derogation.

3.   Where the law of a Member State prescribes that the nationals of another Member State who reside in the first Member State have the right to vote for the national parliament of that Member State and, for that purpose, may be entered on the electoral roll of that Member State under exactly the same conditions as national voters, the first Member State may, by way of derogation from this Directive, refrain from applying Articles 6 to 11 in respect of such nationals.

4.   6 years after 24 June 2026 and every 6 years thereafter, the Commission shall submit to the European Parliament and to the Council a report in which it shall check whether the grant to the Member States concerned of a derogation pursuant to Article 22(1) TFEU is still warranted and shall propose that any necessary adjustments be made. Member States which invoke derogations under paragraphs 1 and 2 shall furnish the Commission with all the necessary background information.

Article 14 Reporting

Within 6 years of 24 June 2026 and every 6 years thereafter, the Commission shall submit a report to the European Parliament and the Council on the application of this Directive, including on the application of Article 5(3) thereof. The report shall contain, where available, statistical data on the participation in municipal elections of voters pursuant to Article 3 and persons entitled to stand as candidates pursuant to Article 3 and a summary of measures taken in that regard. Member States shall make best efforts to support the Commission by providing the available information.

Article 15 Evaluation

Within 10 years of 24 June 2026, the Commission shall assess the application of this Directive and produce an evaluation report on the progress towards achievement of the objectives contained herein.

Article 16 Exercise of the delegation

1.   The power to adopt delegated acts is conferred on the Commission subject to the conditions laid down in this Article.

2.   The power to adopt delegated acts referred to in Article 2(2) shall be conferred on the Commission for an indeterminate period of time from 24 June 2026.

3.   The delegation of power referred to in Article 2(2) 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 on the day following that of 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.

4.   Before adopting a delegated act, the Commission shall consult experts designated by each Member State in accordance with the principles laid down in the Interinstitutional Agreement of 13 April 2016 on Better Law-Making.

5.   As soon as it adopts a delegated act, the Commission shall notify it to the Council.

6.   A delegated act adopted pursuant to Article 2(2) shall enter into force only if no objection has been expressed by the Council within a period of 2 months of notification of that act to 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 2 months at the initiative of the Council.

7.   The European Parliament shall be informed of the adoption of delegated acts by the Commission, of any objection formulated to them, or of the revocation of the delegation of powers by the Council.

Article 17 Transposition

1.   Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with Article 8(2), (3) and (4), Articles 9 and 10, Article 11(1) and (3), Articles 12 and 14 and Annex I by 25 June 2028. They shall immediately communicate the text of those measures to the Commission.

When Member States adopt those measures, they shall contain a reference to this Directive or be accompanied by such a reference on the occasion of their official publication. They shall also include a statement that references in existing laws, regulations and administrative provisions to the Directive(s) repealed by this Directive shall be construed as references to this Directive. Member States shall determine how such reference is to be made and how that statement is to be formulated.

2.   Member States shall communicate to the Commission the text of the provisions of national law which they adopt in the field covered by this Directive.

Article 18 Repeal

Directive 94/80/EC, as amended by the acts listed in Annex II, Part A, is repealed with effect from 26 June 2028, without prejudice to the obligations of the Member States relating to the time limits for the transposition into national law of the Directives set out in Annex II, Part B.

References to the repealed Directive shall be construed as references to this Directive and shall be read in accordance with the correlation table in Annex III.

Article 19 Entry into force and application

This Directive shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union .

Articles 1 to 7, 8(1), 11(2) and 13 shall apply from 26 June 2028.

Article 20 Addressees

This Directive is addressed to the Member States.

Schedules & Appendices

ANNEX I

ANNEX I

‘Basic local government unit’ within the meaning of Article 2(1), point (a), of this Directive means any of the following:

—

in Belgium: commune/gemeente/Gemeinde, conseil de district/districtsraad/Distriktrat,

—

in Bulgaria: община/кметство/Общината е основната административно-териториална единица, в която се осъществява местното самоуправление,

—

in the Czech Republic: obec, městský obvod nebo městská část územně členěného statutárního města, městská část hlavního města Prahy,

—

in Denmark: kommune, region,

—

in Germany: kreisfreie Stadt bzw. Stadtkreis; Kreis; Gemeinde, Bezirk in der Freien und Hansestadt Hamburg und im Land Berlin; Stadtgemeinde Bremen in der Freien Hansestadt Bremen, Stadt-, Gemeinde-, oder Ortsbezirke bzw. Ortschaften,

—

in Estonia: vald, linn,

—

in Ireland: counties, cities, and cities and counties,

—

in Greece: δήμος, δημοτική κοινότητα,

—

in Spain: municipio, entidad de ámbito territorial inferior al municipal,

—

in France: commune, arrondissement dans les villes déterminées par la législation interne, section de commune,

—

in Croatia: općina, grad, županija,

—

in Italy: comune, circoscrizione,

—

in Cyprus: δήμος, κοινότητα,

—

in Latvia: novads, valstspilsēta,

—

in Lithuania: Savivaldybė,

—

in Luxembourg: commune,

—

in Hungary: települési önkormányzat, területi önkormányzat, fővárosi önkormányzat,

—

in Malta: Kunsill Lokali,

—

in the Netherlands: gemeente,

—

in Austria: Gemeinden, Bezirke in der Stadt Wien,

—

in Poland: gmina,

—

in Portugal: município, freguesia,

—

in Romania: comuna, orașul, municipiul, sectorul (numai în municipiul București) și județul,

—

in Slovenia: občina,

—

in Slovakia: samospráva obce: obec, mesto, hlavné mesto Slovenskej republiky Bratislava, mesto Košice, mestská časť hlavného mesta Slovenskej republiky Bratislavy, mestská časť mesta Košice; samospráva vyššieho územného celku: samosprávny kraj,

—

in Finland: kunta, kommun, kommun på Åland, aluevaalit,

—

in Sweden: kommuner, regioner.

ANNEX II

ANNEX II

PART A

Repealed Directive with list of the successive amendments thereto

(referred to in Article 17)

Council Directive 94/80/EC

( OJ L 368, 31.12.1994, p. 38 )

Council Directive 2006/106/EC

( OJ L 363, 20.12.2006, p. 409 )

Council Directive 2013/19/EU

( OJ L 158, 10.6.2013, p. 231 )

PART B

Time-limits for transposition into national law

(referred to in Article 17)

Directive

Time-limit for transposition

Council Directive 94/80/EC

1 January 1996

Council Directive 2006/106/EC

1 January 2007

Council Directive 2013/19/EU

1 July 2013

ANNEX III Correlation table

ANNEX III

Correlation table

Directive 94/80/EC

This Directive

Article 1

Article 1

Article 2(1)

Article 2(1)

Article 2(2)

Article 2(2), first subparagraph

—

Article 2(2), second subparagraph

Articles 3 to 7

Articles 3 to 7

Article 8(1), (2) and (3)

Article 8(1), (2) and (3)

—

Article 8(4) and (5)

Article 9(1)

Article 9(1)

Article 9(2)

Article 9(2)

—

Article 9(3)

—

Article 10

Article 10(1)

Article 11(1)

Article 10(2)

Article 11(2)

—

Article 11(3)

Article 11

Article 12(1)

—

Article 12(2)

—

Article 12(3)

—

Article 12(4)

Article 12

Article 13

Article 13

Article 14

—

Article 15

—

Article 16

Article 14

Article 17

—

Article 18

Article 15

Article 19

Article 16

Article 20

Annex

Annex I

—

Annexes II and III