Abstract/Summary

European Parliamentary (EP) elections are central to ‘the democratic life of the Union’ in which ‘every citizen shall have a right to participate’ (TEU Art 10(3)). Members of the EP ‘shall be elected by direct universal suffrage’ (CFR Art 39(2)) and ‘[e]very person holding the nationality of a Member State shall be a citizen of the Union’ (TFEU Art 20). This paper explores the right to vote in EP elections and sets out four critiques of its current (legal) state which results in divergent eligibility criteria across member states. To address these shortcomings, the paper makes four propositions, arguing that eligibility criteria for EP elections should be uniform across member states and thus harmonised. The paper draws an analogy with existing uniform eligibility criteria in national elections held in federal member states and seeks to take into account the nature of EP elections and the fact that member states are acting on behalf of the Union when they administer and regulate such elections. Critically appraising Parliament's 2022 reform proposal, it calls on EU institutions to address divergent eligibility criteria ahead of the next EP elections.