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IP/04/527 Brussels, 23 April 2004 Green Paper on maintenance obligations: Commission seeks views of interested parties The European Commission has prepared a discussion document (Green Paper) on the cross-border recovery of maintenance obligations (e.g. child support payable by parents not residing with the child). Its purpose is to sound out all those concerned on the various issues involved before the hearing scheduled for 2 June in Brussels takes place and before the second stage of negotiations begin the following week at the Hague Conference on Private International Law. The Commission intends shortly to unveil a Community legislative proposal setting out the rules applicable between EU Member States. As for the Hague Conference, the Commission is making preparations for a convention with a view to bringing up to date the existing regime (comprising several international conventions and various regional or bilateral agreements) so that it could apply in particular between the EU Member States and third countries. The recovery of maintenance claims poses numerous difficulties and, in some cases, close on 50% of such claims are not recovered within a particular country. These difficulties are aggravated in cases where the person required to make the maintenance payments and the person entitled to receive them do not reside in the same country. Given the way in which family structures have changed in recent years, this problem has now assumed disturbing proportions. It would appear that thousands, or indeed tens of thousands, of people are concerned throughout Europe. The Commission Green Paper on maintenance obligations is designed to take stock of all the problems relating to maintenance payments:
Background: The Tampere European Council in 1999 had, therefore, taken the view that the cross-border recovery of maintenance claims had to be improved and recommended that the procedures for recognising and enforcing decisions relating to such claims, already provided for in the "Brussels I" Regulation, should be further simplified. The mutual recognition programme adopted at the end of 2000 thus recommends abolition of the exequatur procedure, i.e. the procedure whereby a judgment delivered in one State is recognised and declared enforceable in another State. However, simplifying court procedures in the country where the debtor is resident is not sufficient on its own to facilitate recovery of maintenance due to children or to other destitute individuals awaiting such payments in order to meet their essential needs. For further information: http://ec.europa.eu/justice_home/news/consulting_public/news_consulting_public_en.htm Contact: JAI-coop-jud-civil@ec.europa.eu |
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