EU
Commission welcomes agreement to better protect children in #CrossBorderFamilyDisputes
Justice ministers have reached a political agreement on the Commission's proposal to update the rules that protect children in cross-border family proceedings. The new rules will speed up the legal and administrative proceedings and ensure that the child's best interest is always taken into account.
The number of international divorces now reaches some 140,000 per year in the EU and there are annually up to 1,800 cases of parental child abduction within the EU.
Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality Commissioner Vĕra Jourová said: “Children whose parents are separating should not have to deal with long, burdensome legal procedures. I am delighted that member states have today agreed to shorten and simplify these proceedings. This will benefit children and their families, who will end up saving their time and money. This is a big step forward in protecting children in the EU.”
The updated rules will allow for faster enforcement of decisions, by abolishing intermediate procedures and by aligning the conditions under which a decision may be rejected or suspended. They will also ensure that children have an opportunity to express their views in all proceedings concerning their case, in particular on custody or if a child was abducted by one of the parents.
Finally, the Regulation will set clearer rules on the placement of a child in another member state and on child abduction cases. The decision in the Council was taken by unanimity, as required by the special legislative procedure for judicial cooperation in family matters. The European Parliament was consulted and adopted its opinion in January 2018. The Council will now finalize the adoption of the Regulation in the coming months.
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