Brussels, 15/12/2005 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday, the Commission adopted two new proposed regulations on the field of civil justice, one aiming to facilitate the recovery of maintenance payments and the other to bring the rules determining the duty applicable to contractual obligations (Rome I) up to date. "I welcome the adoption of the two legislative initiatives launched by the Commission today, because their main objective is to make life easier for the citizens and businesses of Europe, whilst reinforcing their rights and giving them greater legal security", said Commissioner Franco Frattini.
The proposed regulation on maintenance payments aims to improve the situation for those to whom maintenance is owed, mainly children. The steep rise in the number of couples separating (around 40% in the EU of 25), combined with the mobility of citizens within the Union (6 million European citizens live outside their country of origin), has led to an increasing number of disputes over maintenance payments across borders. In certain countries, such as Belgium and the United Kingdom, nearly 70% of all maintenance claims are not recovered (on the 2004 Green Paper on maintenance, see EUROPE 8690). The proposal puts an end to the exequatur procedure in this field, and will give the maintenance recipient the possibility to bring the matter before the authorities of his or her country of residence. Once the decision has been made, measures will be taken to ensure that it is automatically recognised in any other Member State without further formalities. There will also be a possibility to order the money to be taken from the salary by the maintenance debtor's bank, and the recipient will enjoy additional aid and assistance measures on the part of the central authorities, so that he or she can receive the maintenance in as short a bad time as possible. This proposal has been brought before the Council, which must decide unanimously, further to consultation of the European Parliament, because maintenance payments come under family law. According to Franco Frattini, "our ambition is to respond simply and effectively to the day-to-day concerns of maintenance recipients who are not able to recover the money they are entitled to and which they require for their most fundamental needs. There is a genuine social need here, particularly to give children a better standard of living and education, as children are the main ones affected".
The so-called "Rome I" proposed regulation aims to update the Convention of Rome of 1980, which already harmonises the rules on the law applicable in contractual disputes concluded by citizens or businesses in Europe, such as exemple employment, hire, property rental, transport, credit, distribution contracts, etc, whenever they contain an international element. "Thanks to simplified and predictable rules, this initiative will allow European citizens and businesses to make better use of the opportunities opened up to them by the internal market", said Commissioner Franco Frattini. It will also ensure that courts in every Member State apply the same law in the case of a dispute over an international contract, which is a pre-condition for the mutual recognition of legal decisions within the European Union.
These two proposals come within the framework of the political mandate given to the European Commission in Tampere (1999) and the mutual recognition programme adopted by the Council and the Commission at the end of 2000, the objectives of which were reaffirmed by The Hague Programme, which was adopted by the European Council in November 2004.