Changes from plenary report to adopted text

Article 5

The right to stand as a candidate

1. Every Union citizen from 18 years of age shall have the right to stand as a candidate for the elections to the European Parliament in either a national constituency or in the Union-wide constituency, or in both.

Change 73

Changed2. No Union citizen entitled to stand as a candidate shall stand as a candidate in more than one national constituency nor appear on more than one list for a national constituency or on more than in one Union-wide list in any election ofto the European Parliament.

Article 6

Exercise of the right to vote

1. Member States shall ensure that all Union citizens, including those living or working in a third country, those without a permanent residence, those living in closed residential settings, those experiencing homelessness or those serving a prison sentence in the Union, are able to exercise their right to vote in elections to the European Parliament.

Change 74

Changed2. With regard to those citizens serving a prison sentence in the Union, the first paragraph 1 shall be without prejudice to national law or court decisions handed down in accordance with national law.

Article 7

Accessibility

Change 75

Changed1. Member States shall ensure that all citizens, including persons with disabilities, have equal access to relevant materials, to voting facilities,facilities and to polling stations.

Change 76

Changed2. Based on their national voting systems, Member States shall put in place appropriate arrangements with the aim of facilitating the exercise of the right to vote by persons with disabilitiesdisabilities, independently and in secret.

▸5 unchanged paragraphs

3. Member States shall ensure that persons with disabilities receive, at their request, assistance in voting by a person of their choice.

Article 8

Postal voting

1. Member States shall provide for postal voting in elections to the European Parliament, including for citizens living in a third country, and shall adopt measures that ensure that postal voting is accessible, in particular for persons with disabilities. Member States shall adopt all necessary measures to ensure the reliability and secrecy of the vote, and the protection of personal data in accordance with applicable Union law.

2. Member States may provide additional possibilities of voting by way of advance physical voting, proxy voting and voting by electronic and internet systems.

Change 77

ChangedIn the event of electronic, internet and proxy voting, Member States shall adopt all necessary measures to ensure the reliability, the integrity, the secrecy of the vote, transparency in the design and deployment of electronic and internet systems, the possibility for manual or electronic recounts without compromising the secrecy of the vote and the protection of personal data in accordance with applicable Union law.

Article 9

Establishment of the national electoral rolls and European electoral roll

1. For the purpose of detecting and avoiding double voting in the elections to the European Parliament, the deadline for the establishment of the electoral roll in each Member State shall be no later than fourteen weeks before the Election day as referred to in Article 19(1). Errors in the electoral roll may be corrected until Election day.

Change 78

Changed2. For the purpose of establishing the European electoral roll, the competent national authorities shall provide the European Electoral Authority with all necessary data in accordance with Article 18. The criteria to be registered in the national electoral roll shall be regulated by national provisions.

3. The Commission shall adopt implementing acts laying down the technical requirements, including the format and data to be provided for the establishment of the European electoral roll for the implementation of paragraph 2 of this Article. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the advisory procedure referred to in Article 29.

Article 10

Principles of selection of candidates

Change 79

Changed1. All political parties, associations of voters, electoral alliances and European electoral entities participating in elections to the European Parliament shall observe democratic procedures, transparency and gender equality, through measures that aim to ensure that all eligible persons have an equal opportunity to be elected, and a composition of the European Parliament that reflects the diversity of the European Union, when selecting their candidates for election to the European Parliament. Gender equality shall be reached depending on the Member States electoral systems and in any event in the Union-wide constituency by the use of zipped lists or quotas, without infringing on the rights of non-binary people.

▸7 unchanged paragraphs

2. A member of a political party, an association of voters or a European electoral entity may file a reasoned complaint of non-compliance with the democratic procedures, transparency and gender equality criteria laid down in this Article with the responsible national authority or the European Electoral Authority.

Article 11

Tabling of the lists of candidates

1. The deadline for tabling the lists of candidates for elections to the European Parliament shall be twelve weeks before the Election day referred to in Article 19(1).

2. No later than 12 weeks before the Election day, the European electoral entities shall provide the European Electoral Authority with a document establishing that all the candidates consent to their inclusion in the Union-wide list. That document shall include the candidates’ full names and their identity card or passport numbers. It shall be signed by the candidates and shall indicate the date and place of signature.

Article 12

Electoral system

Change 80

Changed1. Elections shall be by direct universal suffrage and shall be equal, free and secret. Each voter shall have two votes, one to elect the membersMembers of the European Parliament in the national constituencies and one to elect membersMembers of the European Parliament in the Union-wide constituency.

2. Members of the European Parliament shall be elected as representatives of the Union citizens on the basis of proportional representation, in the national constituencies and in the Union-wide constituency.

Change 81

Changed3. In the national constituencies, membersMembers of the European Parliament shall be elected using any national system of proportional representation commonly used by the Member States.

Change 82

Changed4. In the Union-wide constituency, membersMembers of the European Parliament shall be elected using the closed list system.

Article 13

Electoral threshold

Change 83

Changed1. Member States may set a minimum threshold for the allocation of seats. At national level, thisthat threshold shall not exceed 5 % of the valid votes cast.

2. For national constituencies, which comprise more than 60 seats a threshold shall be set and shall not be lower than of 3,5 % of the valid votes cast in the constituency concerned.

Change 84

Changed3. The thresholds referred to in paragraphparagraphs 1 and 2 shall be without prejudice to exemptions made in national law for political parties or associations of voters that represent recognizedrecognised national or linguistic minorities.

▸8 unchanged paragraphs

4. An exemption from national thresholds set in paragraph 2 shall be made for political parties or associations of voters, registered in a quarter of Member States and obtaining at least one million votes across the Union, which include in their national ballot paper the single name and logo of the European electoral entity to which they are affiliated, and where appropriate, adapted to the languages of the Member States concerned.

5. There shall be no minimum threshold for the allocation of seats in the Union-wide constituency referred to in Article 15.

Article 14

National constituencies

In accordance with its specific national situation and without prejudice to Article 15, each Member State may establish single constituencies for elections to the European Parliament or subdivide its electoral area in a different way, without affecting the proportional nature of the voting system in general.

Member States may form single-member constituencies representing linguistic or ethnic minorities, overseas nationals, outermost regions or overseas territories in accordance with national regulations, without affecting the proportional nature of the voting system.

Article 15

Union-wide constituency

Change 85

Changed1. There shall be one constituency formed of the entire territory of the European Union from which 28 membersMembers of the European Parliament shall be elected at the first election of membersMembers of the European Parliament following the entry into force of this regulation.Regulation.

Change 86

ChangedFor elections of membersMembers of the European Parliament thereafter, the size of the Union-wide constituency shall be determined by the European Council Decision establishing the composition of the European Parliament.

Change 87

Changed2. The election in respect of the Union-wide constituency shall be without prejudice to the membersMembers of the European Parliament elected in each Member State.

▸7 unchanged paragraphs

3. All European electoral entities in accordance with Article 2 may submit to the European Electoral Authority Union-wide lists.

4. No European electoral entity may submit more than one Union-wide list. National parties and national associations of voters may only support one Union-wide list.

5. The ballots comprising the Union-wide lists shall bear the name and logo of the respective European electoral entity.

6. For candidates living in a third country, the candidate’s place of residence for the purposes of drawing up the Union-wide list shall be their last one before leaving the European Union. For candidates born and resident in a third country, the place of residence for the purposes of drawing up the Union-wide list shall correspond to that of the candidate’s Member State of nationality.

7. The Union-wide lists shall include a number of candidates equal to the number of mandates referred to in paragraph 1.

8. The Union-wide lists shall be drawn up by the European electoral entities in accordance with the principles as laid down in Article 10(1).

9. In order to ensure geographical balance, the Union-wide lists are divided in sections of three slots. Each of these three slots is to be filled with one candidate coming from each of the three groups of Member States as defined in Annex I and exemplified in Annex II.