PURPOSE: to authorise Croatia, the Netherlands,
Portugal and Romania to accept the accession of San Marino to the
1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child
Abduction.
PROPOSED ACT: Council Decision.
ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: the Council adopts
the act after consulting the European Parliament but without being
obliged to follow its opinion.
BACKGROUND: the 1980 Hague Convention has been
ratified by 97 countries, including all EU Member States. It aims
to restore the status quo by mean of the prompt return of
wrongfully removed or retained children through a system of
cooperation among central authorities appointed by its Contracting
Parties.
As the prevention of child abduction is an essential
part of the EU policy to promote the rights of the child, the
European Union is active at international level to improve the
application of the 1980 Convention and encourages third States
to accede it.
The 1980 Hague Convention stipulates that it applies
between the acceding state and such contracting states as have
declared their acceptance of the accession.
As the matter of international child abduction falls
within the exclusive external competence of the European
Union, the decision whether to accept the accession of San
Marino has to be taken at EU level by means of a Council
Decision.
San Marino deposited its instrument of accession to
the 1980 Hague Convention on 14 December 2006.
The Convention is already into force with 23 Member
States. Croatia, the Netherlands, Portugal and Romania, consulted
by the Commission on their willingness to accept the accession of
San Marino to the 1980 Convention, gave a favourable
opinion.
Croatia, the Netherlands, Portugal and Romania should
therefore be authorised to deposit their declarations of acceptance
of the accession of San Marino in the interest of the
Union.
As far as parental child abduction is concerned, the
1980 Hague Convention is the international counterpart of Council
Regulation No 2201/2003 (known as the Brussels IIa Regulation).
One of its main objectives is to deter child abduction between
Member States by establishing procedures to ensure the child's
prompt return to the Member State of his/her habitual
residence.
Ten Council Decisions have been already adopted between June 2015 and
December 2016 in order to accept the accession to the 1980 Hague
Convention on International Child Abduction of 10 third countries
(Morocco,
Singapore,
Russia,
Albania,
Andorra,
the
Seychelles, Armenia,
the
Republic of Korea, Kazakhstan
and Peru).
CONTENT: with this proposal for a decision, the
Council is invited to adopt a decision authorising Croatia, the
Netherlands, Portugal and Romania to accept the accession of San
Marino to the Hague Convention of 25 October 1980 on the Civil
Aspects of International Child Abduction in the interest of the
Union.
Croatia, the Netherlands, Portugal and Romania shall,
no later than 12 months after the date of adoption of this
Decision, deposit a declaration of acceptance of the accession of
San Marino.
The United Kingdom and Ireland are bound by Regulation
(EC) No 2201/2003 and therefore participate in the adoption and
application of this Decision.
The acceptance of Croatia, the Netherlands, Portugal
and Romania would render the 1980 Convention applicable between San
Marino and all EU Member States except Denmark.