On Tuesday 15 July, the Danish Minister for Justice, Peter Hummelgaard, presented the priorities of the Danish Presidency of the Council of the European Union to the Committee on Legal Affairs (JURI) and the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE). The protection of vulnerable adults, the cross-border recognition of parenthood, insolvency law, the defence of fundamental rights, the fight against discrimination and the creation of a special tribunal for crimes of aggression are the main lines of action for the next six months.
The Danish Presidency wants to make progress on the regulation on the protection of vulnerable adults in a cross-border context (see EUROPE 13191/15). “These include the elderly and people with disabilities [...] who need help to make decisions, particularly about their financial affairs”, said Mr Hummelgaard. The Minister indicated that “the Danish Presidency will continue this work” begun under the Polish Presidency, focusing on the issue of national registers and their interconnection.
Another priority is the proposal for a regulation on the cross-border recognition of parenthood, issued by the European Commission in December 2022 (see EUROPE 13079/9).
The Minister reaffirmed that “the Danish Presidency will facilitate discussions on this important proposal”, underlining the objective of ensuring rapid recognition of parentage, particularly in the case of LGBTQI+ families. Questioned in the LIBE Committee by Alessandro Zan (S&D, Italian), he confirmed that “progress has been made recently” and that the Presidency intended to “work further on the technical aspects of this issue”.
Mr Hummelgaard also welcomed the general approach adopted in June on the Directive on the harmonisation of certain aspects of insolvency law (see EUROPE 13545/1). “We hope and look forward to the negotiations on the proposed directive”, he said. He expressed the hope that the text would help to strengthen the Union’s legal certainty and economic competitiveness.
Defending fundamental rights is also a priority for the Presidency. The Minister expressed Denmark’s commitment to “freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for fundamental rights”, and confirmed that his country would continue to work on the European Union’s accession to the European Convention on Human Rights.
Questioned on this point by Alessandro Zan (S&D, Italian), Mr Hummelgaard said that the Danish Presidency supported extending the legal basis of Article 83 of the Treaty to “include hate crimes and incitement to hatred”. “The European Union opposes all forms of discrimination, whatever the grounds”, he declared.
The Minister also confirmed his country’s involvement in the creation of a special tribunal to judge crimes of aggression committed in Ukraine. “There is a proposal for a legal instrument [...] It was formally presented by the previous Presidency, and the Danish Presidency will take the necessary steps to continue this work”, he added. (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)