Making citizens’ lives easier
Factsheet (published December 2010) 
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Watch the Video: "Helping international couples"
Property rights for EU couples
Vicente, who is Spanish, and Ingrid, who is Dutch, are married and live in the Netherlands. They would like to buy a house together in France. But first they would like to know which law would apply to the purchase and, more generally, to the property they would own together if they were to separate or if one of them died. Would it be Spanish, Dutch or French law? Could they choose the law they would like to apply?
Which action(s) did the 2010 EU Citizenship Report foresee?
- To make it easier for international couples (either married or registered partners) to know which courts have jurisdiction and which law applies to their property rights (e.g. a jointly owned house) by presenting legislative proposals in 2011.
What progress has been made?
The Commission has proposed two regulations on 16 March 2011: one on matrimonial property regimes 2011/0059 (CNS) and one on matters of property consequences of registered partnerships 2011/0060 (CNS) .
These proposals are currently being debated by the European Parliament and by the Member States in the Council in view of their final adoption.
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