Have EU Citizens a Right to Become Members of National Political Parties? View from the EU Law and Czech Law Perspectives
Abstrakt
EU citizenship encompasses the right to vote and stand as candidates in elections to the European Parliament and in municipal elections in the Member State of residence, under the same conditions as nationals of that State (Article 20(2)(b) TFEU). In the Czech Republic, the legislation allows migrating EU citizens to stand as candidates in these elections, however, not as the members of Czech political parties - unlike Czech candidates.
Thus, the question arises whether the formulation in the Treaty "under the same conditions as nationals of that State" also includes the right of EU citizens to become members of national political parties. First, the author tries to answer the question whether EU citizens have a right to become members of national political parties deriving from EU law.
Second, the author analyses the situation in the Czech Republic and draws conclusions concerning the issue in question.