It seems to me that the main issue is that it’s hard to figure out how to vote in the elections you are eligible for.
The author states that he couldn’t vote [in the national elections] a single time when he lived in The Netherlands for 13 years, plenty of time to gain the nationality. Apparently there was no intention to immerse themselves so deeply in Dutch society while still wanting to have a say about what happens in said society…
I’m of the opinion that they’re right that it’s too hard to register for voting and figuring out all the different systems when moving. This should be more unified and simplified accross the EU. I also think it should be much easier for EU citizens to change nationality when moving to another EU country. However, we cannot ignore that the EU is not a federation, it consists of separate nations and nationality is much more than just a registration of where you live.
German citizen, I was always able to vote in local and EU elections in Ireland. Fair, it did annoy me not to be able to vote in the general elections there, but I was able to request mail-in ballots for general elections in Germany online and got them in time.
I agree with the author that we should not have different rules and requirements across the EU. Voting requirements should be aligned across all member states. At the same time, we should not use bureaucratic hurdles as an excuse to not vote. If you move somehwere new, inform yourself and plan accordingly. This is important stuff.
I can’t even get citizenship in my new EU country without giving up my original country EU citizenship.
That’s something I really hate and think should end.
EU countries citizens should always be able to hold each other’s citizenships.
Why?
Not trying to be an ass, just curious about your reasoning
I could not agree less.
You can’t spend most of your time in more than one country. I think multiple citizenship is absurd and being a citizen of a country you’re never in is even weirder.
If you want to live in a country longterm, you should be a citizen there. Vice versa, if you don’t live in a country long-term, you shouldn’t.
And I say this as someone who was birth-loopholed into three citizenships. It’s frankly absurd that I can vote in countries I visit maybe every other year.
this is just brexit arguments restored with LHD and yellow headlights
Have you actually read the article?
The idea that Europeans willfully gathered into a union to support each other financially is antithetical to the article. The idea of the EU is that Europe gathers and helps pay for each other to have better safer lives.
That not only implies that some nations’ citizens will pay for others that is the point of the EU in its entirety.
I feel like I’ve read a completely different article
