[quote="tatt"] Hello Markuspetz, Interesting process, however the feedback was predictable! As EU citizens we are allowed to vote in municipal elections - but the mayor of Vienna is not a municipal election as Vienna is a federal state, as well as a city, and all Vienna city elections are therefore on state level. It is perfectly legal under the EU directive for countries to bar foreign citizens from national and state elections - the directive only relates to municipal elections. I realise this is not satisfactory; you could vote for the mayor of Graz or Linz, for example, as they are not also federal states. Therefore the only legal challenge is really to Austria to change their laws and allow foreign or EU citizens to vote in state elections - I doubt they would reclassify Vienna as a city. The point about taxes is mute - although the principal of no taxation without representation is universal it is really only a principal. Almost all countries are happy to take your money without giving you a right to vote unless you're also a citizen. I have used SOLVIT before and found them a capable and useful service, however we're talking about a major change in the law and I do not think little xenophobic Austria is ready for that debate just now... having said that it might be interesting to see their response. A new EU directive might be easier actually. [/quote]

[quote="markuspetz"] I was sent this message. So I wrote to Your Europe Advice, they wrote back saying to contact SOLVIT (SOLVIT is an on-line problem solving network in which EU Member States work together to solve without legal proceedings problems caused by the misapplication of Internal Market law by public authorities.) Perhaps Vienna-Expats could write to them with the specifics here, as I do not have them? Here are SOLVITs contacts: http://ec.europa.eu/solvit/site/index_en.htm And here is my correspondance with Your Europe Advice: ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Date: Wednesday, October 3, 2012 Subject: Your Europe Advice enquiry 112187 To: Dear Sir/Madam, Please find below the reply to your enquiry. Please note that the advice given by Your Europe Advice is an independent advice and cannot be considered to be the opinion of the European Commission, of any other EU institution or its staff nor will this advice be binding upon the European Commission, any other EU or national institution. Dear Mr Petz, Unfortunately, the text of your enquiry does give us enough information to appreciate what the reasons are for your not being able to exercise your electoral rights as EU citizen in the local elections in Vienna. You do not specify either what is the relevance of taxation in this matter. We will therefore limit our reply to stating the relevant provisions of EU law, letting you judge whether your rights are being infringed and telling you where, possibly, to turn to in order to enforce them. If you live in another EU country, you have the right to vote and to stand as a candidate in municipal elections held in that country. The conditions are the same for you as for nationals. If you want to vote in these elections, you need to express your intention to do so and ask to be put on the electoral roll in that country. You will be asked to supply information such as your nationality and address. If nationals of the country are required to have been living in the country for a certain period to be allowed to vote in municipal and European elections, it will be the same for you. However, the periods that you have spent in other EU countries -other than your home country- should be taken into account. To stand as a candidate in municipal elections you may be required to make a declaration that you are not disqualified from standing as a candidate. You may be asked to support this declaration with an attestation issued in your home country. In case you still exercise electoral rights in the UK, be aware that, contrary to electoral rights in a European election, there is no condition that you only vote and stand as a candidate in one country. Indeed, this condition is justified only by the fact that European elections are one and the same election organised in different countries, and it does not apply to local elections. Legal references: Article 22 of the EU Treaty : http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/Lex ... 199:en:PDF Articles 39 and 40 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/charter/pdf/text_en.pdf Council Directive 94/80/EC of 19 December 1994 laying down detailed arrangements for the exercise of the right to vote and to stand as a candidate in municipal elections by citizens of the Union residing in a Member State of which they are not nationals: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/Lex ... 80:en:HTML In case your European rights described above are not respected, you can complain to SOLVIT via the UK SOLVIT Centre. SOLVIT is an on-line problem solving network in which EU Member States work together to solve without legal proceedings problems caused by the misapplication of Internal Market law by public authorities. There is a SOLVIT centre in every European Union Member State (as well as in Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein). SOLVIT Centres can help with handling complaints from both citizens and businesses. They are part of the national administration and are committed to providing real solutions to problems within ten weeks. Using SOLVIT is free of charge. http://ec.europa.eu/solvit/ With our best wishes, Your Europe Advice It seems that your case may be further dealt with by SOLVIT which is a free-of-charge network that seeks to solve problems caused by the misapplication of EU rules by public authorities in another member state. Find more about SOLVIT. If you want to pursue your case with SOLVIT please click on the following link. To submit another enquiry, please visit Your Europe Advice, but do not reply to this e-mail. Your original enquiry was: I have just been informed that my right to vote for municipal representation is being denied. Is this correct and is it allowed in EU law, or should Austria alter its electoral system so that I can be represented and also stand as a candidate? Or should I be tax exempt? SPECIFIC DETAILS I SAW AS FOLLOWS: Vienna Expats members attending last week's Meet and Greet at Strandbar Hermann were greeted by an unexpected guest - Andreas Mailath-Pokorny, Vienna's Stadtrat für Kultur und Wissenschaft - who was out pressing the flesh with the general public. He popped over for a chat with the group, and as the article in Heute reports, also practiced his English with us. There was a serious side to our chat to him, we mentioned about the difficulties faced by EU citizens who work and pay taxes in Vienna who are not allowed to vote in the mayoral elections in Vienna - due to the dual role of the Mayor of Vienna also being the Landeshauptmann for the Bundesland of Vienna. Would you like to tell YOUR EUOPE ADVICE whether you were satisfied with this reply? Click here. Yours sincerely, Your Europe Advice [/quote]

[quote="snowdog"] [quote="morgenhund":260jngzz]Snowdog didn't look very impressed![/quote:260jngzz] I was looking at an interesting sight elsewhere. [/quote]

[quote="wiena"] lol [/quote]

[quote="verryberry"] you guys are forgetting the BEST part - my Swarovski bejeweled crutch! I really think it steals the show... AND I got an SPÖ lighter! [/quote]