Brussels, 04/10/2005 (Agence Europe) - The 'Conference des Notariats de l'Union Europeenne' (CNUE) responded in a press conference in Brussels on 30 September to the European Commission's Green Papers on inheritance and wills and the applicable law and powers for divorce matters published in the spring (see EUROPE 8895). On inheritance and will, Paolo Piccoli, CNUE President, said the creation of a European heredity certificate and the extension of the Reseau europeen des registres testamentaires (RERT) (European register of wills) could facilitate the execution of cross-border inheritance. Paolo Pasqualis, CNUE general rapporteur, said that some countries are not yet ready to extend RERT because they do not have a national register of wills themselves. In terms of divorce legislation, CNUE echoes the European Commission's suggestions that if a married couple from different EU Member States split up, it is up to the couple in question to make decisions, explained Pedro Carrion, head of the CNUE's divorce committee. Piccoli said that the measures aim to harmonise European legislation and also, more importantly, to standardise the various existing legal systems.
The first Congress of EU Civil Law Notaries ('Notariat without borders') will be held in Rome on 10/11 November 2005.