§ Mr. SpearingTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will state the rights and obligations of(a) a Danish citizen resident in the United Kingdom and (b) a United Kingdom citizen resident in 856W Denmark occasioned by implementation of the inter-governmental decision agreed at Edinburgh and how they differ from those currently obtaining.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeWhen the treaty on European union enters into force, Danish nationals resident in the United Kingdom—like other European Community nationals—will, in addition to the existing rights of free movement and residence as provided in the treaty of Rome and in measures adopted to give it effect, gain the rights to vote and stand in local and in European parliamentary elections, to petition the European Parliament and to apply to a European ombudsman.
United Kingdom and other European Community nationals resident in Denmark already enjoy the right to vote in local elections.
The Edinburgh decision does not affect this position but makes clear that union citizenship does not replace national citizenship and the rights and obligations accruing from it, which will continue to be decided by reference to the national law of the member state concerned.