On Wednesday, 23 January, MEPs on the European Parliament’s Committee on Legal Affairs (JURI) held a further exchange of views regarding the recast of the Brussels II a regulation on judgments in matters concerning marriage, parental responsibility, and international child abduction (see EUROPE 11584).
The European Parliament had already adopted a favourable opinion a year ago (see EUROPE 11942), but the Council of the European Union decided to consult it again (see EUROPE 12162) given the “substantial changes” it made to the European Commission’s initial proposal while adopting its position on the key elements of the reform (see EUROPE 12155) in December.
MEPs gave the simplified procedure the green light. According to Article 50 of the Parliament’s Rules of Procedure, after an initial debate on a legislative proposal, the President may indeed propose that the proposal for a legislative act be approved without amendment, unless at least one-tenth of the members of the committee object.
“I think we can express our satisfaction with the work that has been done”, said rapporteur Tadeusz Zwiefka (EPP, Poland). In fact, according to him, many of the suggestions made in his initial draft report have been incorporated into the EU Council’s position.
German MEP Evelyne Gebhardt (S&D) agreed to enter the simplified procedure but nevertheless felt that some elements were missing from the proposal.
Moreover, she reiterated her regret that the draft reform only recognizes traditional marriage and does not take into account new forms of legal cohabitation, such as registered partnerships.
“Had I wanted to, I could have filed many amendments – I would even have liked to have done so – but the end of the legislative period is coming, and I would like to see what we have achieved locked in”, she concluded.
A debate on the new report approving the recast is expected to take place during the first plenary session in March. (Original version in French by Marion Fontana)