WRITTEN QUESTION E-1102/02

by Carlos Bautista Ojeda (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(18 April 2002)

Subject: International adoptions between Spain and Romania

International adoptions between Spain and Romania first took place in 1997, the date of specific Romanian legislation (Emergency Order of 25 June 1997, later ratified by law in May 1998).

The Romanian government suspended its participation in international adoptions on 14 December 2000. On 12 June 2001, the Romanian Prime Minister announced that participation would be resumed with the adoption of a new law on the subject. This decision was inspired

by Romania's ambition to accede to the EU, and the pressures brought to bear on the Romanian administration by the EU, regarding specific cases of child abuse and negligence in Romanian orphanages (Baroness Nicholson of Winterbourne's report, A5-0259-2001).

Due to the suspension decision, the adoption procedures undertaken by many Spanish families have been stalled, although their applications comply with all international guarantees and have been approved by the Romanian Adoption Committee. At least 17 Spanish families have already been assigned a Romanian child, along with the corresponding Certificate of Suitability issued by the committee.

These interruptions are to the detriment of the children, who have to remain in public institutions longer than necessary, rather than being able to live in a proper home and grow up in a family.

Moreover, the 1993 Hague Convention on the Protection of Children and Cooperation in respect of Intercountry Adoption considers international adoption to be a very good method of child protection. It should be pointed out that 17 procedures assigning children to North-American families were completed on 14 February 2002.

Is the Commission aware of this situation?

Is the Commission aware of the suspension of these procedures, which have already been approved by the institutions of both countries?

What measures will the Commission take to ensure that international adoption continues to be controlled without impairing the legitimate interests of adoption families?

Joint answerto Written Questions E-0982/02, E-0998/02, E-0999/02, E-1000/02, E-1035/02,E-1036/02, E-1038/02, E-1039/02, E-1040/02, E-1073/02, E-1102/02 and E-1241/02given by Mr Verheugen on behalf of the Commission

(6 June 2002)

The Commission monitors childcare policies in Romania because Romania has applied to join the Union and must therefore comply with the highest international standards on human rights, among which the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of the Child. In this context,

the Commission has expressed concern over serious shortcomings in Romanian legislation and practice on international adoptions, which risked giving rise to abuse.

Since Romania has ratified the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in respect of Intercountry Adoption, some other states party to that Convention prompted by similar concerns, also opened a process of consultations with Romania in October 1999.

Following these expressions of concern and recognising that economic considerations and interests other than the children's best interest played a role in the domestic process of decision-making on international adoptions, the Romanian government has taken a number of decisions, starting in December 2000, that have led to the suspension of international adoptions for one year (Emergency Ordinance 121 of 8 October 2001).

The Romanian government also found that a certain number of children in respect of whom international adoption decisions had been made could not be accounted for. The cases were reported to the competent investigating and prosecuting authorities in Romania.

In respect of applications for international adoptions that were pending when that ordinance entered into force, the Romanian government adopted Emergency Ordinance 161 of 7 December 2001, providing for the completion of intercountry adoption procedures for cases that had already been dealt with, or were being dealt with, by the courts when the moratorium was decided. This ordinance also allows the government to forward pending cases to the courts in exceptional circumstances. The Romanian government has not disclosed figures for the total number of pending cases.

The Commission understands that all cases that had been decided upon by the courts or were still in court on 8 October 2001 have now been settled. In addition, the Romanian government has so far recognised exceptional circumstances in 50 cases, where applications for international adoptions have been forwarded to the courts by way of derogation for the moratorium.

The cases concerning Spanish families, like all other cases, are known to the Romanian authorities who will consider them according to the rules contained in Ordinance 161/2001.

It must be noted that the number of children in residential childcare is decreasing from 57 181 at the beginning of 2001 to 49 965 at the end of the same year. While 15 777 children entered placement centres between October 2000 and September 2001, 24 772 children were taken out of placement centres over the same period. The rate of institutionalisation in Romania is 0,8 % of the entire Romanian population between 0 and 18 years, which is not an exceptionally high rate for a country in transition. By way of comparison, a study carried out under a Phare project in 1997 found that the rate of institutionalisation of children in Western Europe was comprised between 0,5 and 1 %. In addition, only approximately 5 % of Romanian institutionalised children are eligible for adoption under Romanian law. The mortality rate for children in institutions is not known to the Commission, but infant mortality rate in Romania has decreased between 1990 and 1999 from 21 to 18 per thousand, according to Romanian sources.

The Commission has devoted a considerable amount of Phare funds not only to improve conditions in childcare institutions, but also and primarily to assist the Romanian government to reform its childcare policies substantially. These efforts, together with those of other international donors, Member States and many committed non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are now bearing fruit, thanks also to the commitment of the Romanian authorities.

Specifically on adoption legislation, the Commission, together with other bodies, has given technical assistance to the Romanian government in drafting a new text, which the government is now considering.

The Commission will continue to monitor the situation and provide assistance to the Romanian government if requested. It must be stressed that the Commission does not have the competence to deal with individual cases involving international adoptions.