When families have disputes or international couples separate, cross-border judicial cooperation is crucial to give children a secure legal environment to maintain relations with both parents (and guardians) who may live in different European countries.

Vĕra Jourová, EU Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality said: " Children are at the heart of this reform. The separation of their parents is difficult enough. The children concerned deserve judicial proceedings that clarify their situation as quickly as possible and in the best interest of the child. We propose today to upgrade the existing rules on the basis of practical experience during the past 10 years. The focus of this reform is clear: we need to speed up the cross-border cases. Time is of the essence for children's welfare, so we need these new rules quickly."

The updated rules are based on the assessment of the existing rules and aim to remedy the identified shortcomings. In particular, a key objective is to ensure quicker overall procedures given that time is of the essence in order to protect the best interests of the child in these cross-border parental responsibility disputes.

The proposal adopted today by the Commission will be sent to the Council of the EU. The decision in the Council is taken at unanimity, under the special legislative procedure for judicial cooperation in family matters (Article 81(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union). The European Parliament will be consulted on the proposal.

For more information:

• Press release
• Memo
• Regulation proposal(509 kB)
• Factsheet(333 kB)