The right of Union citizens to stand for municipal and European elections on the same terms as nationals of the State of residence includes the right to join a political party Commentary on the Judgments in Cases C-808/21 and C-814/21 of the Court of Justice of the European Union

Abstract

The Court of Justice of the European Union, sitting as a Grand Chamber, upheld the infringement actions brought by the European Commission against the Czech Republic and Poland, considering that the prohibition on non-national European citizens from joining a political party contravenes the obligations of Member States to guarantee equal conditions for all European citizens, regardless of their nationality, in the exercise of the right to stand for election in municipal and European elections. With a view to protecting the political participation of European citizens in the democratic life of the host State and strengthening the project of making European citizenship the fundamental status of nationals of the Member States, the Court of Justice defines the scope of the specific rule of equality in Article 22 TFEU, emphasises the role of political parties in the functioning of European representative democracies, and reconciles respect for national identity with the principles of equality and democracy that govern the European Union.