Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern will discuss proposals for enhanced European cooperation on divorce at a meeting of EU justice ministers in Luxembourg on Friday.The two-day Justice and Home Affairs Council meeting will consider a draft regulation implementing enhanced cooperation in national laws on divorce and legal separation.
Last June, the European Parliament called on the council to adopt the regulation under Article 333(2) of the Lisbon Treaty.
The parliament was told that the number of marriages between spouses from different member states was increasing and that 140,000 of these had ended in divorce in 2007.
The proposal would halve the 26 sets of conflicting rules on divorce in member states, ‘‘making for greater harmonisation of the rules of private international law and reinforcing the integration process’’.
But some member states had ‘‘specific problems which made it impossible for them to accept the proposed regulation’’, MEPs heard.
In particular, one unnamed member state was ‘‘unable to accept that its courts might have to apply foreign divorce law’’ and wished to continue applying its own substantive law to any divorce sought in its courts.
According to the Treaty on European Union, a minimum of nine member states can establish ‘‘enhanced cooperation’’ between themselves.
Fourteen member states - Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Latvia, Luxembourg, Hungary, Malta, Austria, Portugal, Romania and Slovenia - have now said that they want to cooperate on divorce law.
The proposed new rules will ‘‘apply to all parties before the courts of the participating member states, irrespective of their nationality or residence’’.
MEPs were told that there were ‘‘no international agreements between participating and non-participating member states which would be breached by enhanced cooperation’’, and the regulation would not interfere with the Hague Conventions on parental responsibility and maintenance obligations.
Although Ireland has a protocol on divorce law, under the Lisbon Treaty the Council of Ministers can approve enhanced cooperation by the unanimous decision of all participating member states.
Non-participating states, such as Ireland and Britain, do not have a vote.
SIC: SBP/IE