On Tuesday 21 November, MEPs from the European Parliament's legal affairs committee (JURI) will vote to give a favourable opinion to the proposal for the recast of the Brussels II regulation on decisions in matrimonial matters, matters of parental responsibility and child abduction. During an examination of the compromise amendments the previous day, the leader of the Brussels II working group at the Council gave MEPs an update of the ongoing negotiations between member states.
The draft report by Tadeusz Zwiefka (EPP, Poland) suggests giving a favourable opinion to this proposal welcoming the integration of grounds for refusal of the execution of a decision, the existence of appropriate financial support for central authorities and children's participation rights. Although the Parliament is only consulted on this dossier, the MEPs nevertheless agreed on certain amendments that would enable the text to be improved, particularly regarding the hearing of a child, mediation and the placement of a child abroad.
The leader of the Brussels II working group at the Council said that the Council also decided to strengthen the text on these three aspects. As regards the requirement to give a child the chance to express his opinion, the Council decided to maintain the infringement of hearing the child as grounds for refusing a decision. On the requirements of jurisdictions to work actively on promoting mediation, the Council added an additional article saying that this requirement applies equally to other forms of resolving disputes amicably. In addition, as regards the placement of a child abroad, the Council decided that the regulation should cover all placements of children except those with a direct parent.
New forms of legal cohabitation. For Evelyne Gebhardt MEP (S&D, Germany), it is nevertheless regrettable that the Brussels II regulation only recognises traditional marriage and does not take account of new forms of legal cohabitation. Gebhardt submitted numerous amendments in order to include partnership before a public authority, and called on the Commission and Council to take account of these new forms of cohabitation in the future. (Original version in French by Marion Fontana)