Belgium to offer voting rights to non-EU citizens
By Lisbeth Kirk
The Belgian parliament last night decided by a majority of 80 votes to 53 to offer voting rights to non-EU citizens in local elections.
The proposal was opposed by Belgian prime minister Guy Verhofstadt.
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To obtain the voting rights, non-EU citizens must have resided in Belgium for five years.
The proposal does not allow non-EU citizens to stand in the elections.
It has been estimated that as many as 120,000 people may benefit from the new right, which can be used for the first time in the 2006 municipal elections.
In other parts of Europe, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Ireland and the Netherlands offer similar rights to newcomers.