European Parliament elections and 2 EU nationalities

[LondonApplicant]

I understand that an EU citizen living in the UK can choose whether to vote for MEPs (Members of the European Parliament) running in the constituency of his country or for those running in the UK.

However, if a EU citizen also acquires British nationality, can he/she vote for the two constituencies (native country + UK), or does he/she have to choose one?

Thanks.

PS Please no comments on the usefulness/uselessness of the EU, the European Parliament, whether the UK should quit the EU or not - all interesting topics but not what I asked for

[aledeniz]

However, if a EU citizen also acquires British nationality, can he/she vote for the two constituencies (native country + UK), or does he/she have to choose one?

One head one vote.

You may disagree, and I don't actually dislike the Hungarian experiment, but in modern western democratic tradition, turtledovian snoutcounting enjoys near absolute primacy.

[LondonApplicant]

One head one vote.

May I simply ask if this is your interpretation, or if you know for sure, in which case I'd find it interesting to see some exact references to the relevant EU law (or other sources)?

The point here is not voting twice, is whether a dual citizen has the right of electing representative in both the two countries he/she is a citizen of.

[aledeniz]

May I simply ask if this is your interpretation, or if you know for sure, in which case I'd find it interesting to see some exact references to the relevant EU law (or other sources)?

Just before voting for the last EU elections, I got the instructions from the Italian consulate in London, clearly stating in Italian that:

"chi in occasione delle elezioni dei membri del Parlamento Europeo partecipa al voto per le elezioni dei membri spettanti all’Italia e per le elezioni dei membri spettanti ad altro Paese della comunità è punito con la reclusione da 1 a 3 anni e con la multa da 51,65 a 258,23 euro."

That is it, voting twice to elect MEPs in both the Italian constituencies and in other EU constituencies attracts penalties of 1 to 3 years of jail time and £45 to £225 fine.

The Italian authorities explicitly reference the "Council Directive 93/109/EC of 6 December 1993 laying down detailed arrangements for the exercise of the right to vote and stand as a candidate in elections to the European Parliament for citizens of the Union residing in a Member State of which they are not nationals" as the source of this prohibition, specifically the article 4, which is pretty clearly stating:

Article 4

1. Community voters shall 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.

The point here is not voting twice, is whether a dual citizen has the right of electing representative in both the two countries he/she is a citizen of.

Set aside the multiple voting issue, my personal understanding is that if you are a EU citizen residing in a country of which you don't hold citizenship, you may decide if to vote, once, in the country of residency or in the country or in only one of the countries of citizenship, while if you reside in a country of which you hold citizenship, you should vote on that country.

Say if you are a British and German dual citizen living in Italy, you may opt to vote, once, in one of the Italian, German or British constituencies, but if you are British and German dual citizen living in the UK, you have to vote in the British constituencies.

[LondonApplicant]

[...]

Article 4

1. Community voters shall 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.

This is clear as far as people with only one nationality are concerned; not so clear when it comes to people with dual nationality. In other words, it's clear that an Italian (who doesn't also hold British citizenship) residing in the UK may choose to vote for either the UK or the Italian (but not for both) candidates to the European Parliament.

It's not so clear when it comes to a dual Italian/British citizen.

My understanding is that there is some kind of legislative vacuum whereby the legislators didn't think of these cases, and now there are no clear rules on this. For example,

In the European elections every voter has only one vote. Those with a dual citizenship status, however, are entitled to vote in both countries”, replies Arto Jääskeläinen, Elections Director at the Finnish Ministry of Justice.

as reported here:
http://www.hs.fi/english/article/Person ... 5246081930

An interpretation which probably not everyone agrees with - anyway, I understand it's just an interpretation. This is why I keep asking if anyone knows of anything more binding than a personal interpretation (e.g. a specific law or ruling, or opinion by legal scholars).

Of course the concept of one person - one vote is the very basis of modern democracy. However, a dual citizen voting in the constituencies of his two countries would not give his vote more weight, because he'd be voting for different constituencies.
Consider the Council of the European Union (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Council_of ... pean_Union). It is composed of national ministers. Now, a dual citizen clearly has the right to vote in the parliamentary elections of both his two countries, and therefore (however indirectly, since modern democracy is clearly always about indirect representation) has the right to have a say in the ministers of his two countries, and therefore will have influenced the Council members of two countries, not one. The same applies to pretty much most, if not all, EU bodies whose members are chosen by a combination of national parliaments and national ministers: a dual citizen, by voting for two national parliaments, influences the EU bodies chosen by two countries. Why should it be different with respect to the European Parliament, which, by the way, is probably way less powerful and useful than the Council?

[aledeniz]

This is clear as far as people with only one nationality are concerned; not so clear when it comes to people with dual nationality. In other words, it's clear that an Italian (who doesn't also hold British citizenship) residing in the UK may choose to vote for either the UK or the Italian (but not for both) candidates to the European Parliament.

It's not so clear when it comes to a dual Italian/British citizen.

Nope. The Italian legislation and the related documentation is diamond clear, if you are caught voting twice in the same European election, in the Italian and in other constituencies, you are going to risk from min 1 to max 3 years of jail time, plus fines. It doesn't actually matter if you are an Italian citizen, you are going to fall under the remit of the Italian legislation as soon as you vote in one of the Italian constituencies.

I may believe you if you say me that other EU countries may have faulty implementations and understanding of the voting directives, and in that case the EU Commission will be aware of the issue I suppose, but that doesn't mean dual citizens of those other EU countries get the right to vote twice or more. We have the right to vote only once, and actually, if you are residing in the country of which you are citizen, you are going to have to vote in that country, no matter how many other citizenships you hold, as the 93/109/EC is not going to apply to you. It may not be strictly enforced, some countries legislators may not even understand fully, but that's it.

[LondonApplicant]

[...]

if you are residing in the country of which you are citizen, you are going to have to vote in that country, no matter how many other citizenships you hold, as the 93/109/EC is not going to apply to you. It may not be strictly enforced, some countries legislators may not even understand fully, but that's it.

Thanks for pointing this out - I hadn't quite realised this was the case.