The Acting Returning Officer
Parliamentary Constituencies in
England and Wales

The Returning Officer
Local Government Areas in England and Wales

The Electoral Registration Officer
District and London Boroughs in
England and County or County Boroughs in Wales

The Returning Officers in Scotland

The Electoral Registration Officers in Scotland

EPR 6/03

• Registering citizens of member states of the European Union and accession states. Guidance to Electoral Administrators on exchange of information

• Electoral Policy Division moving location, staff and new contact details

• List of contacts in EU and Accession States

Registering citizens of member states of the European Union and accession states. Guidance to Electoral Administrators on exchange of information

1.  Introduction

1.1   Citizens of Member States of the European Union (for convenience, referred to in this guidance from now on as citizens of the EU) and of the 'Accession' States which are expected to join the EU on 1 May 2004 who are resident in the UK can apply to vote in UK European Parliamentary elections. However, these persons are not allowed to vote as well in the same elections in the State of which they are a national (i.e. their Home State), as double voting is not allowed.

1.2   Under new Regulations, Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) are required to notify EU and Accession States of citizens of EU and Accession States who apply to vote in the European Parliamentary elections in the UK.

1.3   This guidance advises EROs on how they should operate the new exchange of information provisions.

2.  Legal Position

2.1    The relevant statutory provisions are:

2.2   Regulation 8 of the above 2001 Regulations, as amended by the 2003 Regulations, provides that as soon as practicable after the registration officer has registered the name of a relevant citizen of the Union or of an Accession State in the register of European Parliamentary electors, he shall send a copy of the application to the person shown as the representative of the State in respect of which the applicant is a national in a direction containing a list of such representatives issued by the Lord Chancellor.

2.3    The 2001 Regulations, as amended, state that the Lord Chancellor shall issue directions identifying the representative for each Member State of the European Union (including Accession States) to whom the information referred to above is to be sent.

2.4   This note constitutes the directions referred to above, and includes a list of representatives for the Member and Accession States.

3.  List of Contacts

3.1   At Annex A, the EU and Accession States are listed. For each State, a representative, postal and e-mail address, and FAX number, is given.

4.   Procedure that EROs should follow

4.1    Form UC1 - Citizens of EU and Accession States resident in the UK who wish to apply to vote in European Parliamentary elections in the UK (i.e. who wish to be added to the register of European Parliamentary electors) must do so in accordance with regulation 6 of the 2001 Regulations (persons are required to make an application and declaration in line with the provisions set out in regulation 6). There is no prescribed form for EU citizens to use for this purpose. However, there is the form 'UC1' for use by EU citizens who wish to apply to vote in European elections. The Electoral Commission has produced a new version of the form UC1 for use by electoral administrators (which can be downloaded from the Electoral Commission's website). There is discretion for EROs to produce a locally produced form, though it is recommended that EROs adopt the form produced by the Electoral Commission and supply this form to any EU citizens who wish to apply to vote in European elections in the UK. Of course, it is also open to any EU citizen to apply to be registered by any other means which conveys the same information and fulfils the requirements specified in regulation 6.

4.2   The UC1 form asks for information about the applicant and also requires the applicant to sign a declaration by which (s)he agrees to exercise his/her rights to vote at European Parliamentary elections only in the UK (and not his/her home country) for as long as his/her name appears on the UK register of electors for the European Parliament. This form constitutes the 'application and declaration' referred to in regulation 8 of the 2001 Regulations as mentioned above.

4.3   Information to be collected - Member and Accession States have agreed, to meet the requirements of the Directive 93/109/EC, that they should provide each other with certain specified details in respect of EU citizens who have registered to vote in the European Parliamentary elections in their EU State of residence which is not their Home State.

4.4    The information that EROs should collect (from the form UC1) and provide to the relevant representative in respect of an elector is as follows:

4.5    EROs should where possible seek to collect the above information in respect of EU/Accession State electors who apply to vote in the European elections in the UK. It is recognised that it may not be possible to obtain all of the above details in respect of each elector.

4.6    Citizens of the Republic of Ireland, Cyprus and Malta are, as of right, able to vote in all elections in the UK, and are not required to apply to vote in European Parliamentary elections in the UK. EROs will not therefore receive UC1 application forms in respect of these citizens, and therefore the required details for them will not be available. However, should EROs be able to identify citizens of these countries from the annual canvass, or from any applications under 'rolling registration', details of them should also be sent to the contact in the relevant State.

4.7   Format - EROs should send the required information in electronic form either:

5.  Timing

5.1   The requirement to notify EU States of EU citizens wishing to vote in European Parliamentary elections in the UK arises from regulation 8 of the European Parliamentary Elections (Franchise of Relevant Citizens of the Union) Regulations 2001, as amended by regulation 5 of the Local and European Parliamentary Elections (Registration of Citizens of Accession States) Regulations 2003. The amendments to the 2001 Regulations came into force on 9 July 2003 and so the requirement on EROs has taken effect.

5.2   The 2001 Regulations now require EROs to send the information to the relevant contact in the applicant's Home State as soon as practicable after the applicant has been registered in the register of European Parliamentary electors. The interpretation of 'as soon as practicable' is a matter for individual EROs. However, most applications will be made either at the time of the annual canvass or shortly thereafter. EROs will therefore probably wish to wait until their new register is published on or before 1 December 2003 so that they can compile a consolidated list of applicants from each Member/Accession State at that time. Thereafter, information can be sent to the relevant representatives overseas on a monthly basis at the time that monthly updates are published.

5.3  The requirement to notify EU States is an ongoing one though in practice it is likely that significant numbers of applications to vote in the UK elections will only be received in a year when European Parliamentary elections are to take place.

5.4   Should EROs have applications that were received prior to this guidance and dating back to 9 July, it is recommended that details of the applicants are sent to the appropriate representative as soon as possible.

6.  UK Contact

6.1  Electoral administrators in EU and Accession States have been instructed to notify John Winter in the Electoral Policy Division (EPD) of the Department for Constitutional Affairs of any UK citizens resident abroad in an EU/Accession State who apply to vote in European Parliamentary elections in their State of residence. Upon receipt of any notifications, and where it is possible to do so, EPD will pass this information on to the relevant ERO. If the individual is also registered to vote in European Parliamentary elections in that ERO's area, the ERO should take whatever steps, if any, s/he thinks are necessary to ensure that the voter is aware that it is an offence to vote twice in those elections, even if they are voting in different countries.

6.2    If you have any queries about this guidance please contact:

• Back to top

Electoral Policy Division moving location, staff and new contact details

Electoral Policy Division - staff and responsibilities

All the staff below will now be located together at 6th Floor Selborne House, 54-60 Victoria Street, London, SW1E 6QW as of 22 Sep 2003

Name	Responsibilities	Contact details
Head of Division John Sills	Overall policy on electoral matters for parliamentary elections, referendums and political parties as covered in the PPERA 2000	020 7210 8218 Email
Christine Goode PA to John Sills		020 7210 8220 Email
Head of Referendums & Political Parties Branch Pauline Prosser	Political Parties, Referendums & Enfranchisement of Gibraltar for EP Elections	020 7210 8232 Email
David Rowland	Political Parties, Donations & Funding	020 7210 8231 Email
Beverley Fountain	Referendums & Enfranchisement of Gibraltar for EP Elections	020 7210 8239 Email
James Coughlan	Political Parties, Referendums & Enfranchisement of Gibraltar for EP Elections	020 7210 8238 Email
Head of Electoral Legislation & Administration Branch Malcolm Rawlings	Conduct & Franchise of Parliamentary Elections	020 7210 8225 Email
Deputy Head of Branch Frances Evans	Conduct, Funding & Franchise of Parliamentary Elections	020 7210 8228 Email
John Collins	Conduct & Funding	020 7210 8227 Email
Martin Ellis	Conduct & Divisional Communications	020 7210 8234 Email
Peter Richardson	Franchise, Registration & Absent Voting	020 7210 8226 Email
John Winter	Franchise, Registration & Absent Voting	020 7210 8233 Email
Christine Johnston	Divisional Support	020 7210 8219 Email
Head of Multi-Channel Elections Branch Paul Docker	European Pilots Bill, Electronic Register & Multi-Channel Voting	020 7210 8221 Email
Duncan Rutty	Pilots Bill, Electronic Register & Multi-Channel Voting	020 7210 8224 Email
Matthew Lewsey	Pilots Bill & Multi-Channel Voting	020 7210 8235 Email
Kash Thompson	Pilots Bill & Multi-Channel Voting	020 7210 8222 Email
Head of Electoral Reform Branch Antonia Romeo	Electoral Reform following Electoral Commission's Recommendations	020 7210 8223 Email
Liz Waters	Electoral Reform following Electoral Commission's Recommendations	020 7210 8236 Email

Yours sincerely

John Sills
Head of Electoral Policy Division

• Back to top

---

Annex A

List of contacts in EU and Accession States

1.  Existing EU States

Country	Contact details
Austria	Elisabeth Kuchelbacher Bundesministerium fur Inneres Abteilung V/6 Postfach 100 A-1014 Wien Austria E-mail : Email FAX : 43 153126 2110
Belgium	Ingrid Bens Rijksregister RAC - Financietoren Pachecolaan 19 Bus 20 B - 1010 Brussel Belgium E mail : Email FAX: 32 2 210 21 49
Denmark	Grete Kongstad Indenrigs - og Sundhedsministeriet Slotsholmsgade 10 -12 DK - 1216 Copenhagen K Denmark E-mail : Email FAX : 45 33 92 36 25
Finland	Timo Korhonen Vaestorekisterikeskus PL 70 FI - 00581 Helsinki Finland E Mail : Email FAX : 358 9 22 91 67 16
France	Catherine Beaume Institut Nationale de la Statistique et des Etudes Economique 18 Boulevard Adolphe Pinard F - 75675 Paris- Cedex 14 France E-mail : Email FAX : 33 1 41 17 62 79
Germany	Hartlef Schulte Datenerfassung fur den Bundeswahlleiter Statistisches Bundesamt Zweigstelle Bonn Postfach 17 03 77 D-53029 Bonn Germany E-mail : Email FAX : 49 0611 75 89 77
Greece	Penelope Spanoriga Ministry of the Interior, Directorate for Elections 2 Evangelistrias Street Gr 10183 Athens Greece E mail : Email FAX : 30 1 03 24 73 66
Republic of Ireland	Nora Rowland Franchise Section Department of the Environment and Local Government Custom House Dublin 1 Ireland E-mail : Email FAX : 353 1 888 26 90
Italy	Salvatore Galatioto Ministero Interno Dipartimento affari interni e territoriali Direzione Centrale dei servizi elettorali Piazza del Viminale, 1 00184 Roma Italy E mail : Email FAX : 39 064 744 194
Luxembourg	Patrice Kieffer Ministere d'Etat 4, rue de la Congregation L - 1352 Luxembourg E mail : Email FAX : 352 461720
Netherlands	Dhr. P van de Water Gemeente Den Haag Projectbureau verkiezingen Postbus 12620 NL 2500 DL Den Haag Netherlands E mail : Email FAX : 31 70 3534424
Portugal	Domingos Magalhaes Secretariado Tecnico dos Assuntos para o Processo Eleitoral Av D Carlos I, 134 P 1249 104 Lisbon Portugal E-mail : Email FAX 351 213909264
Spain	Manuel Comesana Carnero Oficina del Censo Electoral 2 Capitan Haya, 51 E-28071 Madrid Spain E-mail : Email FAX : 34 91 583 46 88
Sweden	Michael Patrickson Valmyndighet Box 4210 SE 17104 Solna Sweden E mail : Email FAX : 46 8 627 64 40

• Back to top

2.  Accession States

Country	Contact details
Cyprus	Demetris Demetriou Ministry of Interior Central Electoral Service CY - 1453 Nicosia Cyprus E-mail : Email FAX : 357 22 67 84 86
Czech Republic	Mgr. Petra Wagnerova The State Electoral Commission U Obecniho domu 3 CZ 11220 Praha 1 Czech Republic E mail : Email FAX : 42 974 84 62 75
Estonia	Arne Koitmae National Election Committee Lossi Plats 1 A 1581 Tallinn Estonia E-mail : Email FAX : 372 6316541
Hungary	Kovacs Edit Orszagos Valasztasi Iroda Budapest Pf 81 HU 1450 Hungary E-mail : Email FAX : 36 1 456 65 27
Latvia	Mara Jurevska Central Election Committee M.Troksnu iela 2 Riga LV -1811 Latvia E-mail : Email FAX : 371 708 7100
Lithuania	Jurga Augustaityte Central Electoral Committee 53 Gedimino Avenue LT 2002 Vilnius Lithuania E-mail : Email FAX : 370 5 239 69 60
Malta	Joseph Calleja Electoral Commission Evans Building Pjazza Sant Iermu Valletta CMR 02 Malta E-mail : Email FAX : 356 21 24 84 57
Poland	Marian Dziegielewski State Electoral Commission National Electoral Office Wiejska 10 PL - 00902 Warsaw Poland E-mail : Not available FAX : 48 22 625 09 67
Slovakia	Jana Mogelska Ministry of Interior Public Administration Section Drienova 22 812 72 Bratislava Slovak Republic E-mail : Email FAX : 421 2 43 33 39 31
Slovenia	Bojan Trnovsek Minister of Interior bureau for Administrative Internal Affairs Beethovnova ulica 3 SI 1000 Ljubljana Slovenia E-mail : Email FAX : 386 1 472 25 81

Return to Electoral Legislation Letters Index