WRITTEN QUESTION E-0209/02 by Ulpu Iivari (PSE) to the Council. Return home of corpses within the EU.
Date: 2002-02-05
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU national, Treaty on European Union, approximation of laws, citizens' Europe, death, intra-EU transport

C 205 E/94

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

29.8.2002

exchanges of family visits or the release of prisoners of war. In spite of limited progress, the Council still
deplores the very worrying situation of the Saharan refugees in the Tindouf camps, while emphasising that
the tense situation in the Western Sahara makes it yet more difficult to solve humanitarian issues. That is
also why the Council, which is in regular contact with the UN Secretary-General’s personal envoy, Mr James
Baker, and all parties to the conflict,
is willing to contribute to establishing a climate of confidence
between the parties concerned in order to facilitate an acceptable solution.

(2002/C 205 E/105)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0209/02

by Ulpu Iivari (PSE) to the Council

(5 February 2002)

Subject: Return home of corpses within the EU

A growing number of Union citizens currently live in Member States other than their countries of origin.
As a result, more and more are dying outside their home countries. At present, the return home of corpses
from one country to another is regulated by the Berlin agreement, dating back to 1937, and a Council of
Europe Agreement, dating back to 1973. These agreements are now out of date because they are based on
border policing of a type that has ceased to exist. The current situation is causing all kinds of delays and
inconvenience for the grieving relatives of people who have died.

Do the EU Treaties require the Union to guarantee that corpses can be freely sent home within the EU,
when the deceased persons were Union citizens? In addition, would it be possible to draw up a regulation
to govern the return home of corpses whereby a journey from one Member State to another would be as
simple as a journey within the same Member State?

(2002/C 205 E/106)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0343/02

by Eija-Riitta Korhola (PPE-DE) to the Council

(12 February 2002)

Subject: Carriage of deceased persons within the EU

A growing number of EU citizens are living in another EU country than their own: many EU citizens work
in another country, tourism continues to increase and ever more retired people from northern Europe are
moving permanently to southern Europe. An inevitable consequence of increased migration and travel is
that, increasingly, EU citizens are dying elsewhere in the EU than in their home country.

At the same time as the EU’s internal market is functioning ever more smoothly, absurd difficulties arise
with the repatriation of a deceased person from one EU Member State to another. This results in needless
cost and distressing delays for the relations of the deceased.

The repatriation of deceased persons from one country to another is governed by the Berlin Convention
(1937) and the Council of Europe Convention on the carriage of deceased persons (Strasbourg 1973).
These Conventions are no longer in keeping with the times since they are based on the kind of border
checks which no longer exist. For example, a zinc coffin is not necessary when transporting a deceased
person (by road) from Strasbourg to Lyon (460 km) but is essential when transporting the deceased person
from Strasbourg to Baden-Baden (50 km). There are no rational hygienic or safety grounds that would
justify this practice.

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?