Brussels, 25/07/2008 (Agence Europe) - Nine European Union member states are very soon to trigger the process which should, in time, lead to achievement of the first “enhanced cooperation” in the history of the European Union. On Friday 25 July, EU justice ministers held a decisive debate on the subject of creating enhanced cooperation to circumvent the Swedish refusal to adopt a text aimed at simplifying divorce proceedings in the Union, known as Rome III.
The “nine” pioneers - France, Luxembourg, Spain, Italy, Slovenia, Austria, Greece, Hungary and Romania - are expected to send a request to the European Commission as of Monday 28 July stating their willingness to launch an enhanced cooperation, foreseen by Article 43 of the Treaty on the European Union. “We shall examine it without taboo, but we want to look at all the consequences”, Justice Commissioner Jacques Barrot said, specifying that the Commission will be entrusted with carrying out an impact analysis on the subject. “We want to avoid the risk of splitting Europe over such a sensitive subject”, he added. The French justice minister, Rachida Dati, for her part, pointed out that “enhanced cooperation is not a tool against Europe, but a way to begin with some in order to convince the others. It is an instrument of conviction”. The proposal for a regulation in question, which requires unanimity, aims to clarify the competence and the rules relating to the law applicable to matrimonial matters. The “subject interests all states, whatever their position, as it affects the intimate lives of people”, Ms Data said, explaining that 350,000 bi-national marriages are celebrated each year in the EU and 170,000 divorces are pronounced. In June this year, the Sweden had categorically refused to rally to a compromise on the regulation saying that it did not have to apply laws other than its own in this field (EUROPE 9677). In order to continue with 26 members, the only solution that can be contemplated is that of opting for enhanced cooperation, as, even if the Lisbon Treaty takes effect, the rule of unanimity will continue to apply in the field of family law. The states interested will commit to enhanced cooperation that will only concern the law applicable and not competence given that the problem encountered by the Swedish only concerns the law on divorce. The cooperation mechanism allows, under the first pillar, for a limited group of countries to launch an initiative in the EU even when not all states want to be involved. It requires the participation of at least eight countries, which must present a request for enhanced cooperation to the European Commission. The Commission may accept or refuse. If it accepts, the proposal must then be approved by qualified majority of the 27 member states. In the case of refusal, the European Commission will only have to explain to the member states concerned why it does not follow up their request. The Nice Treaty provides that, when a member states hopes to join an enhanced cooperation already launched, the Commission alone is competent to assess how that request should be followed up. In addition to the group of “nine”, five other countries - Germany, Belgium, Portugal, Lithuania and Slovakia - are reflecting on how appropriate it is to join the initiative. The Estonian delegation, for its part, said that “Pandora's box would be opened up” if such a mechanism were launched. This concern is shared by other states, such as Poland, the Czech Republic, Finland and Latvia. Sweden has decided not to oppose this enhanced cooperation, like three other countries that do not wish to be a part of it, namely the United Kingdom, Ireland and the Netherlands. (B.C./transl.jl)