Position of resident aliens with respect to the first direct election of the European Parliament
- Author(s):
- Parliamentary Assembly
- Origin
- Assembly debate on 17 September 1976 and on 25 January 1977 (11th and 21st Sittings) (see Doc. 3834, report of the Committee on Population and Refugees). Text adopted by the Assembly on 25 January 1977 (21st Sitting).
The Assembly,
1. Warmly welcoming the decision of the member states of the Council of Europe belonging to the European Communities to organise direct elections to the European Parliament ;
2. Recognising that such elections will come to represent an outstandingly significant expression, at the international level, of the political will of the peoples of the participating states ;
3. Believing that the disfranchisement of any group of citizens of the participating states would effectively destroy much of the significance of this historic advance ;
4. Observing that, unless special provision is made in the electoral arrangements of each participating state, many EEC nationals resident in the territory of other EEC states will either be unable to vote at all or will be forced to return to their home countries in order to take part in the election ;
5. Welcoming the fact that this problem has been raised on a number of occasions in the European Parliament and in national debates ;
7. Expresses the hope that the governments of states Members of the European Communities will make provision in the electoral arrangements for the first direct election to the European Parliament for the right of nationals of other EEC states resident in their territory to participate fully in this election.
