The European Commission would like to see parenthood established in one Member State recognised in the others, with all the rights that this entails. It presented its ‘Equality Package’ on Wednesday 7 December, including a proposal for a regulation to oblige Member States to recognise parenthood established elsewhere in the EU. The text also clarifies the competent courts and the applicable law for establishing parenthood in cross-border cases and introduces a European Certificate of Parenthood.
“All children should have the same rights irrespective of how they were conceived or born and of their type of family”, insisted European Commissioner for Justice, Didier Reynders.
The recognition of parenthood is particularly relevant for families with same-sex parents. This issue has been highlighted in the media by the case of “baby Sara”, to whom Bulgaria refuses to issue a birth certificate, as it does not recognise the parenthood of both mothers, as established in Spain (see EUROPE 12853/25, 13070/23). The EU Court of Justice ruled in 2021 that Bulgaria should issue a passport to the child.
EU law provides that parenthood established in one Member State should be recognised in another as regards access to the territory, right of residence and non-discrimination with nationals. However, there is no guarantee that national rights such as inheritance or custody of a child will be applied when parenthood is not recognised.
Clarifying competences
With this regulation, the Commission first proposes rules for designating the jurisdiction that will deal with the case. It proposes to use the country of residence of the child at the time of the application to the court. Other possibilities are proposed, such as the country of nationality of the child or the place of residence of the respondent.
The applicable law may be different from that of the jurisdiction. In such a case, it must be that of the country where “the person who gave birth” resided at the time of the birth. Alternatives are provided for cases where the law of the country in question does not allow the parenthood of the second parent to be established.
Recognising parenthood across the EU
All Member States must recognise parenthood established by an authentic instrument from another EU country, according to the Commission’s proposed regulation. The same applies to a decision of a court of a Member State recognising a parent-child relationship.
A ‘European Certificate of Parenthood’
The Commission wants to create a ‘European Certificate of Parenthood’ that families will be able to use anywhere in the EU. The EU27 authorities will have to recognise the validity of the document.
The document, a model of which is provided, should contain the details of the child and the parents, as well as the court or authority that established the parenthood, according to the Commission.
Reactions
This proposal for a European parenthood certificate “will be a relief for the parents and for the child, by drastically facilitating the procedures”, welcomed MEP Pierre Karleskind (Renew Europe, French).
His colleagues Marc Angel (S&D, Luxembourger) and Saskia Bricmont (Greens/EFA, Belgian) also said they were generally supportive of the Commission’s proposal.
However, Ms Bricmont regretted the choice of the legislative instrument; unanimity in the Council will be required to adopt the regulation.
The Commission is highlighting the interests of the child to convince the EU27. “We don’t want to change the competence of the Member States on the definition of family”, Mr Reynders insisted.
See the regulation: https://aeur.eu/f/4jh (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)