On Tuesday 18 March, the European Parliament’s Committee on Legal Affairs (JURI) examined the draft report on the proposal for a regulation on the cross-border protection of vulnerable adults and on the proposal for a Council decision authorising ratification of the 2000 Hague Convention by the Member States. The Commission’s proposal, presented in May 2023 (see EUROPE 13191/15), is designed to facilitate the mutual recognition of protection measures and harmonise the rules applicable to data subjects within the European Union.
As the rapporteur Jana Toom (Renew Europe, Estonian) was absent, it was the Chair of the JURI committee, Ilhan Kyuchyuk (Renew Europe, Bulgarian), who presented his analysis, stressing the importance of this initiative in view of the growing mobility in Europe.
He also stressed that the framework for judicial cooperation established by this proposal “places personal autonomy at the centre of all policies”.
According to the rapporteur, “the Council should also follow this type of approach and promote the same principles”.
Mr Kyuchyuk argued in favour of a “unified and uniform framework”, on behalf of Jana Toom, who also proposed additional support measures to help those concerned to understand and identify the complex issues covered by this proposal.
Two shadow rapporteurs then spoke.
Michał Wawrykiewicz (EPP, Polish) welcomed the draft report, saying it was “a very important step forward in harmonising jurisdiction rules, introducing the EU representation certificate and with mutual recognition of protection measures”. He called for inter-group exchanges to finalise the work on this dossier.
Krzysztof Śmiszek (S&D, Poland), who was also satisfied, nevertheless called for certain points to be clarified, in particular the issue of guardians and trustees. Referring to international law, he supported an approach based more on support.
On the protection register, the MEP noted that this could oblige Member States and the European Union to set up a register of people who need help in decision-making. For his group, an alternative must be proposed.
The deadline for amendments is midday on 24 March. (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)