Written question – Violation of the rights of ‘non-citizens’ in Estonia and Latvia according to EU law, with exclusion from fundamental civil and political rights – E-002211/2025

Question for written answer  E-002211/2025
to the Commission
Rule 144
Danilo Della Valle (The Left), João Oliveira (The Left), Carolina Morace (The Left)

In Estonia and Latvia, a significant part of the population, including individuals of Russian-speaking, Ukrainian, and Georgian origin, hold the status of ‘non-citizen,’ despite often being born and residing in these Member States for decades. This status excludes them from fundamental civil and political rights, such as voting rights and access to public employment, violating the principles of equality and non-discrimination set out in Articles 20 and 21 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (CFR) and the right to political participation under Article 39 CFR.

This treatment conflicts with Article 18 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), which prohibits discrimination based on nationality, and Article 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

The European Court of Human Rights (Strasbourg) and the Court of Justice of the EU have ruled on similar cases, such as X v Latvia (application no 27853/09) and the Petruhhin case (C-182/15).

In the light of this:

• 1.What is the Commission’s position on the persistence of ‘non-citizen’ status in Estonia and Latvia?
• 2.What measures will it take to ensure equal treatment and civic inclusion?
• 3.How does the Commission assess Estonia’s and Latvia’s compliance with EU obligations, and what steps might it consider to ensure conformity?

Submitted: 3.6.2025