(AGENPARL) – mar 19 novembre 2024 PRESS RELEASE No 194/24
Luxembourg, 19 November 2024
Judgments of the Court in Cases C-808/21 | Commission v Czech Republic and C-814/21 | Commission v
Poland (Ability to stand for election and membership of a political party)
Citizenship of the Union: denying EU citizens residing in a Member State of
which they are not nationals the right to become a member of a political
party infringes EU law
By imposing such a nationality requirement, the Czech Republic and Poland do not ensure equal treatment
with their nationals as regards the effective exercise of the right to stand as a candidate in municipal and
European elections
EU law confers on EU citizens residing in a Member State of which they are not nationals the right to vote and to
stand as a candidate in local and European elections. If that right is to be exercised effectively, those citizens must
be afforded equal access to the means available to nationals of that Member State for the purpose of exercising
that right. Given that membership of a political party contributes significantly to the exercise of the electoral rights
conferred by EU law, the Court of Justice finds that the Czech Republic and Poland infringed EU law by denying EU
citizens who reside in those Member States but are not nationals thereof the right to become members of a political
party. Their membership of a political party is not such as to undermine the national identity of the Czech Republic
or Poland.
Czech and Polish legislation confer the right to become a member of a politi cal party only on nationals of those
Member States. Consequently, according to the European Commission, EU citizens who reside in those Member
States but are not nationals thereof cannot exercise their right to stand as a candidate in municipal and Europea n
elections, enshrined in EU law, under the same conditions as Czech and Polish nationals.
Taking the view that that situation constitutes a difference in treatment on grounds of nationality of the kind
prohibited by EU law, 1 the Commission brought two actions for failure to fulfil obligations before the Court of
Justice against the Czech Republic and Poland, respectively.
The Court upholds those actions and finds that both Member States have failed to fulfil their obligations
under the Treaties.
It points out that, if EU citizens residing in a Member State of which they are not nationals are to be able to
exercise effectively their electoral rights in municipal and European elections, rights guaranteed by EU law,
they must have equal access to the means available to nationals of that Member State for the purpose of
exercising those rights effectively.
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 Euro pean elections. Indeed, the
Communications Directorate
Press and Information Unit
curia.europa.eu
latter’s election chances are in particular enhanced by the fact that they are able to be members of a political party
with organisational apparatus and human, administrative and financial resources to support their candidacy.
Moreover, membership of a political party is one of the factors steering voters in their choice.