WRITTEN QUESTION E-1102/02 by Carlos Bautista Ojeda (Verts/ALE) to the Commission. International adoptions between Spain and Romania.
Date: 2002-04-18
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Romania, Spain, adoption of a child, child protection, infant mortality, international adoption, national law, orphan

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(2003/C 52 E/034)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1039/02

by Theresa Zabell (PPE-DE) to the Commission

Subject: International adoption of Romanian children

(15 April 2002)

Is it true that the moratorium on international adoptions introduced by the Romanian Government
paralysed 1 197 adoption requests from Spanish families which were being processed? How many of these
cases have been resolved since, under the aegis of the Emergency Order of 6 December 2001?

(2003/C 52 E/035)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1040/02

by Theresa Zabell (PPE-DE) to the Commission

Subject: International adoption of Romanian children

(15 April 2002)

Is it true that at the end of last year, there were 50 000 children living in children’s homes in Romania,
and that 15 700 of the children had been taken into care that year? What is the annual mortality rate for
children in these homes?

(2003/C 52 E/036)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1073/02

by Juan Ojeda Sanz (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(17 April 2002)

Subject: International Adoptions in Romania

Over the last
few months, many Spanish families have expressed to me their concerns regarding
international adoptions in Romania. They have all signed the agreement on international cooperation and
mediation with Romania on application procedures for intercountry adoption No 0/99/008-I.

The Romanian government has suspended the procedure for assigning children and will not resume until
the introduction of new legislation on the subject. Up to this point, there has been no sign of any initiative
on the part of the Romanian executive to speed up the process of law creation.

Is the Commission aware of the suspension of these cases? If so, what steps has the Commission taken to
resolve the situation?

What is to be the fate of the children who are waiting to be adopted by a family from any one of the
Member States?

(2003/C 52 E/037)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1102/02

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

Subject: International adoptions between Spain and Romania

(18 April 2002)

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

took place in 1997,

the date of specific

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

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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?

(2003/C 52 E/038)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1241/02

by Fernando Fernández Martín (PPE-DE) to the Commission

Subject: International adoption of Romanian children

(30 April 2002)

I have recently come to be aware of the problems encountered by Spanish families wishing to adopt
Romanian children, as well as of certain spine-chilling facts concerning these children.

Does the Commission know of any instances of sexual or other abuse, or of organ trafficking, involving
Romanian children adopted by families in the Member States? If so, what are they, and where did they take
place? What measures have been taken to investigate these cases and bring them to the attention of the
relevant authorities?

Is it true that the Romanian government’s decision to suspend international adoptions has stalled 1 197
application procedures initiated by Spanish families, which were already underway? Since then, how many
of those procedures have been completed under the Emergency Order of 6 December 2001?

Is it true that by the end of the year there was a total of 50 000 children in Romanian childrens’ homes, of
whom 15 700 were taken in that year? What is the annual mortality rate of children housed in these
institutions?

Joint answer
to 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-1241/02
given 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