Italian expats in UK stripped of voting rights in EU elections post-Brexit

  ROME -- Italian citizens residing in the UK will no longer be able to vote in the European parliament elections from the Italian consulates following the United Kingdom’s departure from the EU, according to a petition from The Good Lobby.

  Italian citizens are now expected to return to Italy at the drop of a hat if they wish to exercise their electoral right to vote in the upcoming election on June 8 and 9, Il Fatto Quotidiano reports. Like Italy, EU states Slovakia, Malta, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, and Ireland are not allowing their citizens to cast their votes remotely if living outside of the European Union. 

   A petition from The Good Lobby, addressed to Interior Minister, Matteo Piantedosi, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Antonio Tajani, has now gained over 6 million signatures. “We oppose the decision to exclude Italians residing in non-EU countries from voting remotely at the next elections for the European Parliament. We call on the government to surpass this regulatory rigidity by immediately extending this right to over 1 million Italians in the United Kingdom and in Switzerland,” the petition reads. 

  “With only a few days left, we hope to add as many signatures as possible to make our dissent heard on an issue at the heart of this country, where we Europeans have been subjected to the shock of Brexit.” Commented Germana Canzi, a member of the 3million group, which represented Europeans in Britain during Brexit negotiations. 

  “We did not have the opportunity to vote in the referendum and once the UK left, the EU and the UK worked on dozens, if not thousands, of legislation to adapt, but Italy, unlike these countries, did not take the time to create legislation to prevent half a million people losing their right to vote. It forgot about us.” 

  When the survey conducted by Londra Italia asked ‘Do you think it is right that Italians in the United Kingdom must return to Italy to vote in the EU elections?’ 97 per cent said no, leaving 3 per cent undecided or in favour. 

   “Considering that there were almost 400 responses to the survey, there are around 7 or 8 people who embrace our government’s policy to apply the 1994 law and who thinks that voting at the consulate is an excessive expenditure in relation to the generally low turnout at the European elections.” Said Francesco Ragno, director of Londra Italia.

  “There are various was Europe can try to hold the Italian government accountable for the violation of treaties and of the Charter of Fundamental Rights.” added Giulia Gentile, lecturer of Law at the University of Essex, “The European Commission can launch an infringement procedure for the violation of the Treaties, including the Charter of Fundamental Rights, and I am searching to understand if this could be the case with the Italian Government. The infringement procedure however can take years and can even go before the Court of Justice. This vote cannot ever be restored, it was taken from us, full stop.” 

lw