Brussels, 24/03/2010 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 24 March, the European Commission presented a completely new proposal for "reinforced cooperation", to resolve the difficult issue of binational divorces. "I do not want people in the EU to be left to manage complicated international divorces alone. I want them to have clear rules so that they always know where they stand (...). This is why we have now decided to move forward", said Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding.
The aim of the proposal is to allow European citizens to choose which law should apply to their divorce and, in the event of disagreement, to lay down specific rules on how this law is to be chosen (EUROPE 10104). Why is the Commission proposing reinforced cooperation? In July 2008, Sweden refused to approve a proposed regulation aiming to simplify divorce in cases of couples of different nationalities. As unanimity is required for family law issues, the proposal was blocked. Due to this situation of impasse, 10 Member States - France, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Austria, Spain, Italy, Slovenia, Luxembourg and Greece - then proposed reinforced cooperation and put a formal request to the Commission to make a proposal to this end. The previous Commissioner, Jacques Barrot, chose not to move forward with this, as he was not certain that he would be able to assemble a "critical mass" of enough Member States to support a project which could create a two-speed Europe within the European judicial area.
20 months after Sweden's refusal, Ms Reding has finally decided to "go for it", as she put it. "I am a committed European. I do not like having a two-speed Europe, but if there is an institutional impasse and Europe is forced to stop, then it is better for it to be able to move forward, even if not all Twenty-Seven participate", she said. "The advantages of reinforced cooperation are greater than the disadvantages", particularly when you look at cooperation within the Schengen area and the Euro zone, she added. Do we need a critical mass of Member States in favour of the proposal? "The system of reinforced cooperation makes it possible to move forward if there are nine Member States. We have 10 (...) and a number of countries are getting ready to join the pack", said the Commissioner, pointing out that any Member State could decide to join in at any time. She also pointed out that her proposal aimed to make life easier for the citizens and changed neither the national divorce systems nor the institution of marriage itself. "It is very Christian. We are thinking of those in difficulties, and divorce is a difficulty. It is not a question for politics, but of citizens' rights", she concluded. In order to be accepted, the reinforced cooperation plan must receive the approval of the Council, taking position by qualified majority, and also requires the approval of the European Parliament. The actual launch of reinforced cooperation will be carried out unanimously by the participating members. (B.C./trans.fl)