WRITTEN QUESTION E-3219/00 by Elizabeth Lynne (ELDR) to the Commission. Maintenance payments relating to children of divorced parents.
Date: 2000-10-17
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: divorced person, legal basis, maintenance obligation

C 151 E/104

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

22.5.2001

The strengthening of relevant capabilities of international organisations forms an integral part of the
follow-up to the Helsinki decisions in the field of conflict prevention and crisis management. Given the
vital role of the United Nations for maintaining peace and security, the United Nations is the most
important partner of the Union in this context.

The United Nations has taken initiatives aimed at strengthening its conflict prevention and crisis manage-
ment capabilities. The most recent is the important Brahimi report on improving the effectiveness of
United Nations peace keeping missions. The Union is fully supporting these efforts and is committed to
developing synergies with the United Nations. The Commission is organising its work in this regard with a
view to enhancing its capabilities. The Council will organise a seminar on civilian aspects of crisis
management this month with the United Nations.

Given the need for co-ordination with the United Nations, the Commission believes that the issue will be
taken up by the next European Council within the context of both the Presidency(cid:146)s report on strengthening
Union crisis management capabilities as well as the joint report of the High representative/Secretary
General of the Council and the Commission on conflict prevention.

(2001/C 151 E/116)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3219/00

by Elizabeth Lynne (ELDR) to the Commission

(17 October 2000)

Subject: Maintenance payments relating to children of divorced parents

Is there any EU legislation in place or pending which ensures that divorced parents who have custody of
their children receive maintenance payments from their ex-husband/wife when the latter is from or
residing in a different EU country?

Answer given by Mr Vitorino on behalf of the Commission

(15 November 2000)

The Commission draws the Honourable Member(cid:146)s attention to the Convention of 27 September 1968 on
the recognition and enforcement of judgements in civil and commercial matters (the Brussels Conven-
tion) (1). This establishes the principle of the maintenance creditor(cid:146)s domicile as the ground for jurisdiction,
and provides for the recognition as of right of decisions by the courts and authorities of the Member
States, which have the power to take decisions on maintenance, and lays down the procedure whereby
decisions can be enforced in another Member State.

In other words, according to the Brussels Convention, the divorced parent who has custody of children can
seise the court of the state of his or her domicile to obtain a judgment awarding maintenance payments.
The decision taken by this court can, thanks to the system set up by the Convention, be enforced in the
state of the ex-spouse(cid:146)s domicile.

The Brussels Convention, which has been ratified by all the Member States, is in the process of being
transformed into a Community regulation, which is possible as a consequence of the entry into force of
the Amsterdam Treaty. This transformation will also incorporate certain substantive changes including the
simplifying and speeding up of the mechanism for the recognition and enforcement of decisions by the
introduction of a certificate accompanying the original decision and giving the authority of the Member
State addressed the necessary information for granting the declaration of enforceability.

The Member States, acting in the context of political cooperation, adopted in Rome on 6 November 1990
a Convention on the simplification of procedures concerning the recovery of maintenance payments. The
main feature of this Convention is to complement with administrative arrangements the provisions of the
Brussels Convention, establishing in each Member State a central authority responsible for tracing the

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Official Journal of the European Communities

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debtor, having the judgement declared enforceable and taking the necessary enforcement measures.
The Convention has not, however, been ratified by all the Member States and has not entered into force.

The European Council meeting held in Tampere on 15/16 October 1999 advocated (cid:145)further reduction of
the intermediate measures which are still required to enable the recognition and enforcement of a decision
or judgement in the requested State(cid:146). (cid:145)As a first step these intermediate procedures should be abolished ((cid:133))
for certain judgements in the field of family litigation (e.g. on maintenance claims ((cid:133))). Such decisions
would be automatically recognised throughout
the Union without any intermediate proceedings or
grounds for refusal of enforcement. This could be accompanied by the setting of minimum standards on
specific aspects of civil procedural law(cid:146). Following the Tampere European Council, the Council and the
Commission are drawing up a programme of measures for implementation of the principle of mutual
recognition of decisions in civil and commercial matters, which includes the abolition of intermediate
measures (exequatur) for judgments on maintenance obligations.

(1) OJ L 299, 31.12.1972 (consolidated version).

(2001/C 151 E/117)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3222/00

by Glyn Ford (PSE) to the Commission

(17 October 2000)

Subject: Tobacco Directive derogation

The common position on the EU Directive on Tobacco will ban the manufacture in and export from the
EU of cigarettes of above 10 mg of tar from 1 January 2004 in 14 out of the 15 Member States. It will,
however, include a derogation for Greece that will allow manufacture, distribution and export of cigarettes
above this level until 2007. Is this not a clear breach of single market and competition legislation which
will discriminate against other EU manufacturers, particularly in the UK, who would be affected by a
similar social economic impact?

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(8 December 2000)

Council Directive 90/239/EEC of 17 May 1990 on the approximation of the laws, regulations and
the Member States concerning the maximum tar yield of cigarettes (1)
administrative provisions of
contained a transitional period for the respect of tar limits in cigarettes in Greece. This exemption was
connected with the socio-economic difficulties particular to this Member State resulting from the fact that
the tobacco cultivated in Greece had a high tar content. This Member State is therefore more concerned by
the provisions of the directive than other manufacturing Member States. Moreover, changing these
varieties of tobacco takes a considerable period of time while the change affects a large number of people
as tobacco production in Greece is labour intensive,
involving a significant number of families. The
continuation of this transitional period is justified for the same reasons in the framework of the continued
reduction of tar levels envisaged in the amended proposal for a directive of the Parliament and of the
Council the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States
concerning the manufacture, presentation and sale of tobacco products (recast version) currently under
discussion (2). This derogation is limited to cigarettes manufactured and marketed within the territory of
the Member State concerned, and will not be continued beyond 2007.

(1) OJ L 137, 30.5.1990.
(2) COM(2000) 428 final.