Explanatory Memorandum to COM(2013)55 - Adaptation of Directive 94/80/EC on the right to take part in municipal elections by citizens from another Member State, by reason of the accession of Croatia - Main contents
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| dossier | COM(2013)55 - Adaptation of Directive 94/80/EC on the right to take part in municipal elections by citizens from another Member State, by ... |
|---|---|
| source | COM(2013)55  |
| date | 08-02-2013 |
The proposal for a Council Directive adapting Directive 94/80/EC laying down detailed arrangements for the exercise of the right to vote and to stand as a candidate in municipal elections by citizens of the Union residing in a Member State of which they are not nationals is necessitated by the upcoming accession of the Republic of Croatia to the European Union.
The Treaty concerning the accession of the Republic of Croatia to the European Union[1] was signed by all Member States of the European Union and the Republic of Croatia at Brussels on 9 December 2011.
Article 3 (3) of the Treaty of Accession provides that it shall enter into force on 1 July 2013 provided that all the instruments of ratification have been deposited before that date.
Article 3 i of the Treaty of Accession enables the institutions of the Union to adopt before accession measures referred to, inter alia, in Article 50 of the Act concerning the conditions of accession of the Republic of Croatia[2]. These measures shall enter into force only subject to and on the date of the entry into force of the Treaty of Accession.
Article 50 of the Act of Accession provides that where acts of the institutions adopted prior to accession require adaptation by reason of accession, and the necessary adaptations have not been provided for in this Act or its Annexes, the Council or the Commission (if the original acts were adopted by the Commission) shall adopt the necessary acts.
Point 2 of the Final Act[3] refers to the political agreement on a set of adaptations to be adopted by the institutions which was reached between the Member States and Croatia in the context of the approval of the Treaty of Accession; the High Contracting Parties of the Treaty of Accession invited the Council and the Commission to adopt these adaptations before accession in accordance with Article 50 of the Act of Accession, completed and updated where necessary to take account of the evolution of the law of the Union.
In the field of judiciary and fundamental rights – corresponding to negotiation chapter 23 - only Directive 94/80/EC laying down detailed arrangements for the exercise of the right to vote and to stand as a candidate in municipal elections by citizens of the Union residing in a Member State of which they are not nationals, requires technical adaptation.
The present proposal is part of a series of proposals for Council directives by the Commission to the Council which regroup the technical adaptations to Council directives as well as to European Parliament and Council directives corresponding to negotiation chapters into separate proposals for different Council directives. This structure is designed to facilitate the transposition of the directives concerned by Member States into their respective legal orders. The package of proposals for legal acts which the Commission has transmitted to the Council is composed of this series of proposals for Council directives on the one hand, as well as of a proposal for a single Council regulation which covers the relevant European Parliament and Council regulations and decisions as well as the relevant Council regulations and decisions on the other hand. This is in line with the approach which was taken in the past in view of the accession of Bulgaria and Romania i.
It is foreseen that all the legal acts included in this package will be published in the Official Journal of the European Union at the same date.
The present proposal and the other proposals included in this package will take into account technical adaptations to the acquis which were published in the Official Journal of the European Union until 1 September 2012. The reasons for this are to provide sufficient time for the legislative processes involved on the one hand, and for the fulfilment of the ensuing transposition and notification obligations by Member States as regards directives on the other hand. Adaptations which may be necessary to the acquis published in the Official Journal of the European Union after 1 September 2012 will be foreseen in the relevant acts themselves or done at a later stage through the appropriate procedure. In addition, the Commission intends to informally provide a list of such legislation to Member States in early July 2013.
Contents
As this proposal is of a purely technical nature and does not involve any political choices, consultations with interested parties or impact assessments would not have made sense.
The proposal is based on Article 50 of the Act concerning the conditions of accession of the Republic of Croatia.
The principles of subsidiarity and proportionality are fully respected. The action of the Union is necessary under the principle of subsidiarity (Article 5 (3) TEU) because it concerns technical adaptations to legal acts which were enacted by the Union. The proposal respects the principle of proportionality (Article 5 i TEU) because it does not go beyond what is necessary to reach the objective pursued.
The proposal has no budgetary implications.