Toothless European Citizenship / Šimon Uradnik

detailly regulated in the form of the Council Directive, 269 which however concerns only 3.3% of Union citizens. 270 The assessment of the nonvicariousness of these voting rights appears somewhat ambiguous as, on the one hand, mandates are thoroughly Union-like in the meaning of individual politicians representing only citizens of the Union, 271 not the Member States. Nevertheless, on the other, same as in municipal elections, these are organised solely by the Member States, not by the Union, which might be secondary; more importantly, even these elections are not regulated by any uniform European election act but instead on the basis of a plethora of Member States’ electoral legislations. 272 The situation might change with the legislative resolution of the European Parliament in 2022 on the proposal for a Council Regulation on the election of the members of the European Parliament by direct universal suffrage, which would establish, amongst others, the European electoral authority to conduct and monitor elections. 273 Nevertheless, the author inclines to hold the view 269 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 [1993] OJ L 329/34. 270 According to Eurostat’s data from 2020, only 3.3% of citizens of the Union reside in a Member State different from their nationality. For this purpose, see Eurostat (online data code: lfst_lmbpcita and demo_pjangroup), accessed 20 th April 2023. 271 Consolidated version of the Treaty on European Union [2008] OJ 326/1, article 10(2). 272 Although Article 223 TFEU obliges the European Parliament to submit a proposal on provisions necessary for the election of its members by universal and direct suffrage according to a uniform procedure in all Member States or according to principles common to all Member States, it has not happened yet. Because of the difficulty to harmonise such a procedure, the Council Decision 2002/772/EC is still in use; to that effect, see Council Decision of 25 June and 23 September 2002 amending the Act concerning the election of the representatives of the European Parliament by direct universal suffrage, annexed to Decision 76/787/ECSC, EEC, Euratom [2002] OJ L 283/1. That also results in another inequality, whilst citizens of the Union residing in Austria are entitled to active suffrage from the age of sixteen years old and to passive suffrage from the age of eighteen years old, Union citizens residing in the Czech Republic possess active voting right from the age of eighteen years old and the passive voting right from the age of twenty-one years old. To that effect, compare § 10 des Bundesgesetzes über die Wahl der Mitglieder des Europäischen Parlaments, BGBl Nr. 117/1996, and § 5 and § 6 zákona č. 62/2003 Sb., o volbách do Evropského parlamentu a o změně některých zákonů. 273 European Parliament legislative resolution of 3 May 2022 on the proposal for a Council Regulation on the election of the members of the European Parliament by direct

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