On Friday 8 December, the European justice ministers agreed to drop the exequatur procedure for all parental responsibility decisions, in the framework of the revision of the 'Brussels IIa' regulation.
The move will mean that a decision which is enforceable in the member state of origin will be directly enforceable in the member state of execution, with no requirement for a declaration of enforceability. Although the member states agreed on this principle, they stressed the need to introduce appropriate guarantees.
“This is only the beginning of a broader package to be agreed upon at a later date and which is shaped by two fundamental principles: unanimous agreement on the next steps and the principle that there is no agreement on anything until there is an agreement on everything”, said the Estonian justice minister, Urmas Reinsalu, stressing the complexity of the dossier.
At their meeting, opinions continued to differ over the best way to action the removal (see EUROPE 11920). Certain member states, such as the Netherlands, Sweden, Poland and Hungary, expressed a clear preference for using the removal model set out in the revised 'Brussels I' regulation for all parental responsibility decisions, with the possibility of limited number of appeals against the recognition and implementation of the decision.
Others, in the opposite corner, would rather retain the privileged status conferred by the current 'Brussels IIa' regulation upon certain decisions concerning access rights and the return of the child. These include Luxembourg and Portugal, which consider that the 'Brussels I' model would be a “retrograde step”.
Despite the continuing differences of opinion, the member states have agreed to refer to the technical work of the working party to find a “solution that is acceptable to all”. The European Commission is prepared to show “flexibility” over the model adopted, the Commissioner for Justice, Vera Jourova announced, but she remained immovable over the nature of the objective: to set procedures in place that are more favourable to children and their parents, she stressed. (Original version in French by Marion Fontana)