Recent developments in European family law
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I. Introduction On 3 May 2002, the European Commission presented a proposal for a Regulation in matrimonial matters and in matters of parental responsibility t , which is currently under discussion in the Council. This article will describe the history and background of this proposal as well as analysing its provisions relating to jurisdiction and child abduction.
11. The Background to the Commission Proposal of 3 May 2002 The co-operation between Member States in the field of private international law in family law matters is currently regulated by Council Regulation No. 1347/ 20002, commonly referred to as the "Brussels II Regulation". This Regulation, which was adopted on 29 May 2000 and entered into force on 1 March 2001, contains rules on jurisdiction, recognition and enforcement of decisions on divorce, legal separation and marriage annulment. It also applies to decisions on parental responsibility to the extent that they are issued in the context of a matrimonial proceeding and concern children common to both spouses. Very shortly after the adoption of the Brussels II Regulation, the French Presidency submitted a new initiative in the form of a draft Regulation) The initiative aimed at facilitating the exercise of cross-border access rights by the abolition of exequatur for decisions concerning access rights of children below the age of sixteen. Although the timing of the initiative may seem surprising in view of the recent adoption of the Brussels II Regulation, the area of access rights had in fact been identified as a priority for judicial co-operation already in 1999 at the Justice and Home Affairs Council meeting in Tampere. 4 To counterbalance the direct enforceability of decisions on access rights, the French initiative provided certain guarantees that the child would automatically return at the end of a visiting period in another Member State. The scope of application of the initiative was linked to the Brussels II Regulation. *
Thisartic•eisbas•d•nthespeechhe•dbyMdri•Tenreir••n31•ct•ber2••2atthec•nference•nfami•y•awinEur•pe organised by Europfiische Rechtsakademie in Trier. It has been up-dated before the publication to take account of the result of the Council of Ministers of 29 November 2002. This article does not express the official position of the European Commission, but the personal opinion of the authors.
** Mdrio Tenreiro, Head of Unit, Judicial Cooperation Civil Matters Unit, Directorate-General Justice and H o m e Affairs of the European Commission, Brussels; Monika Ekstr6m, Administrator, Judicial Cooperation Civil Matters Unit, Directorate-General Justice and H o m e Affairs of the European Commission, Brussels.
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Proposal for a Council Regulation concerning jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in matrimonial matters and in matters of parental responsibility repealing Regulation (EC) No 1347/2000 and amending Regulation (EC) No 44/2001 in matters relating to maintenance, 03.05.2002, COM(222) 222 final. Council Regulation (EC) No 1347/2000 of 29 Ma
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