WRITTEN QUESTION E-0346/02

by Marjo Matikainen-Kallström (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(12 February 2002)

Subject: Repatriation of deceased persons within the EU

A growing number of EU citizens live in a different EU country from their home country. It follows inevitably from the free movement of people that, increasingly, EU citizens are dying in a different EU country from their home country. This results in needless cost and distressing delays for the relatives of the deceased.

A zinc coffin is not needed when transporting a deceased person (by road) from Ivalo to Helsinki (1 120 km) or from Strasbourg to Lyon (460 km). However, an expensive zinc coffin is essential when transporting the deceased from Strasbourg to Baden-Baden (50 km).

At present, the repatriation of deceased persons from one state to another is governed by the Berlin Convention (1937) and the Council of Europe Convention on the carriage of deceased persons (Strasbourg 1973; applicable in Finland since 1989). These Conventions are no longer up-to-date since they are based on the kind of border checks that no longer exist. It is no longer possible to identify rational hygienic or safety grounds that would justify the abovementioned use of zinc coffins when transporting deceased persons between two EU countries.

What action does the Commission intend to take to ensure the adoption of rules on the repatriation of deceased persons within the EU that would make repatriation from one Member State to another as simple as transporting a deceased person within a Member State?

Does the EU Treaty require the European Union to guarantee the free repatriation of deceased persons within the EU where the person in question is an EU citizen?

Joint answerto Written Questions E-0073/02, E-0087/02,E-0210/02, E-0344/02, E-0346/02, P-0407/02 and E-0679/02given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(25 March 2002)

The Commission recognises that the repatriation of mortal remains of a person who has died in another Member State than his/her own is a sensitive and difficult issue which can cause great suffering for the family involved.

The Commission is aware of some individual cases, in particular, through the recent written parliamentary questions, where the repatriation of a deceased person from one Member State to another has raised difficulties. However, the Commission does not have any information or statistics which would provide an overview of a possible problem and its scope.

These issues potentially raise a number of questions, some of them in relation to different Community policies, for instance, transport, health, free movement, etc. However, it does not appear that there would be a clear Community competence to cover all these various aspects. Moreover, the regulations governing the transfer of remains of dead persons are laid down in the International Agreement of Berlin (1937, No 4391 League of Nations Treaty Series) and by the Agreement on the transfer of corpses of the Council of Europe concluded in September 1973. In any event it should be recalled that Member States which regulate the transport of deceased persons, must, in conformity with the case law of the Court of Justice, apply any requirements on a non-discriminatory basis. Any derogation based on public health grounds must also be in conformity with the case-law of the Court.

In the light of the above, the Commission will continue to follow these issues closely, but does not envisage any specific initiative for the moment.