COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE IMPACT ASSESSMENT REPORT Accompanying the document Proposal for a Council Regulation on jurisdiction, applicable law, recognition of decisions and acceptance of authentic instruments in matters of parenthood and on the creation of a European Certificate of Parenthood
Date: 2022-12-07
Institutions: Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers, European Commission
Subjects: EU Member State, child protection, cross-border cooperation, family law, family relationship, judicial cooperation in civil matters in the EU, jurisdiction, ruling

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   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 7.12.2022  SWD(2022) 392 final  COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT  EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE IMPACT ASSESSMENT REPORT  Accompanying the document Proposal for a Council Regulation on jurisdiction, applicable law, recognition of decisions and acceptance of authentic instruments in matters of parenthood and on the creation of a European Certificate of Parenthood {COM(2022) 695 final} - {SEC(2022) 432 final} - {SWD(2022) 390 final} - {SWD(2022) 391 final}  
 
 
What is the problem and what are its causes and consequences?  

A. Need for action 

President  von  der  Leyen  said  in  her  State  of  the  Union  speech  in  September  2020  that  ‘If  you  are  parent  in  one 
country,  you  are  parent  in  every  country.’  With  this  statement  the  President  referred  to  the  need  to  ensure  that 
parenthood established in one Member State is recognised in all other Member States. 

The  Commission  has  been  made  aware  through  citizens’  complaints,  petitions  to  the  European  Parliament  and 
judicial proceedings that families may encounter difficulties in having the parenthood of their children recognised in 
cross-border situations within the EU.  

The causes of the problems with the recognition of parenthood are: (i) the diverging Member States’ rules on the 
establishment of parenthood in domestic situations (substantive rules) and in cross-border situations (applicable law 
rules);  (ii)  the  diverging  Member  States’  rules  on  the  recognition  of  parenthood  established  abroad;  and  (iii)  the 
absence of rules on the recognition of parenthood in existing EU legal instruments and at international level.  

The  case  law  of  the  Court  of  Justice  of  the  EU  (CJEU)  requires  Member  States  to  recognise  the  parenthood 
established in another Member State for the purposes of rights derived from EU law, in particular the rights that a 
child enjoys under EU law on free movement, including Directive 2004/38/EC. However, under the case law of the 
CJEU,  Member  States  are  currently  not  obliged  to  recognise  the  parenthood  of  a  child  for  other  purposes1.  The 
non-recognition  of  parenthood  for  other  purposes  can  have  significant  adverse  consequences  for  children  in 
cross-border situations.  

Such  non-recognition  interferes  with  the  fundamental  rights  of  children,  in  particular  the  right  to  an  identity,  the 
right to non-discrimination and the right to respect for a private and family life. The rights that children derive from 
parenthood under national law may also be denied. For instance, children may lose, as regards one of their parents, 
their  right  to  maintenance,  succession  or  custody,  or  the  right  to  have  either  of  their  parents  act  as  their  legal 
representative  in  another  Member  State  in  matters  such  as  schooling,  medical  treatments,  the  opening  of  a  bank 
account or the management of their property.  

The  non-recognition  of  parenthood  sometimes  prompts  families  to  start  litigation  to  have  the  parenthood  of  their 
child recognised in another Member State. However, these proceedings involve significant costs, time and burden 
and have uncertain results2. In addition, the non-recognition of parenthood has a negative effect on the well-being of 
children and their families. Ultimately, the lack of recognition of parenthood may deter children and their families 
from  exercising  their  right  to  free  movement  for  fear  that  the  parenthood  of  the  child  will  not  be  recognised  in 
another Member State for all purposes.  

What should be achieved? 

The general objective of the EU action would be to facilitate the recognition of parenthood between Member States 
through  the  adoption  of  common  rules  at  EU  level.  These  common  rules  would  aim  to  achieve  the  following 
specific objectives: 

•  ensuring the respect of the fundamental rights of children in matters concerning the recognition of parenthood;  

•  ensuring legal certainty, predictability and the continuity of parenthood within the EU; 

• 

reducing  the  costs  and  legal  and  administrative  burden  for  families  as  well  as  for  Member  States’  public 
administrations and courts in connection with procedures for the recognition of parenthood. 

This  includes  the  recognition  of  parenthood  for  purposes  governed  by  national  law,  such  as  the  legal 

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status of persons, succession and maintenance rights. 
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The  costs  for  recognition  procedures  borne  by  cross-border  families  that  face  problems  with  the 
recognition of parenthood are on  average 16 times  higher than  the costs borne by families in non-problematic 
cases.  The  length of recognition procedures also  varies  significantly depending on the complexity of the case, 
ranging from several weeks and months to several years.  

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What are the various options to achieve the objectives?  

B. Solutions 

The  proposal  would  be  based  on  Article  81(3)  of  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union  on  the 
adoption of measures concerning family law with cross-border implications.  

The following policy options have been considered:  

•  Option 0:   Baseline scenario 
•  Option 1:  Recommendation addressed to Member States  
•  Option 2:   Legislative measure: proposal for a regulation on the recognition of parenthood between Member 

States 

•  Option 3:   Legislative measure: proposal for a  regulation on the recognition of parenthood between Member 
States (the same as policy option 2), including the creation of an optional European Certificate of Parenthood. 

All options would cover the recognition of parenthood of both children and adults.  

All options, including the baseline scenario, would be accompanied by non-legislative measures to raise awareness, 
promote good practices and improve cooperation among public authorities dealing with parenthood matters. 

What is the preferred policy option?  

The  preferred  policy  option  is  Option  3,  that  is,  a  proposal  for  a  regulation  on  the  recognition  of  parenthood 
between Member States, including the creation of an optional European Certificate of Parenthood.  

The proposal would include:  

(i) 
(ii) 
(iii) 

(iv) 

common rules on international jurisdiction on parenthood matters;  
common rules on the law applicable to the establishment of parenthood in cross-border situations;  
common  rules  for  the  recognition  in  a  Member  State  of  court  decisions  and  authentic  instruments  on 
parenthood matters issued in another Member State; and 
the creation of an optional European Certificate of Parenthood.  

This  option  would  significantly  facilitate  the  recognition  of  parenthood  in  another  Member  State  for  all  the 
estimated nearly two million children in cross-border situations and not only for those who currently face the most 
serious problems with the recognition of their parenthood. The optional European Certificate of Parenthood would 
be specifically designed for use in another Member State, thereby reducing the administrative burden for all families 
in cross-border situations. 

The proposal would concern the recognition of court decisions and authentic instruments on parenthood issued in a 
Member  State.  The  recognition  of  court  decisions  and  authentic  instruments  on  parenthood  issued  in  a  non-EU 
country would remain subject to national law. The proposal would not affect the recognition of parenthood for the 
purposes of the rights that children derive from EU law, including on free movement law. The proposal would have 
the best interests of children as its primary consideration and would apply to the recognition of the parenthood of all 
children irrespective of the circumstances of their conception or birth and of their type of family.  

What are the benefits of the preferred option? 

C. Impact of the preferred option 

The adoption of common rules would facilitate the recognition of parenthood and would have a positive impact on 
the  protection  of  children’s  rights  in  cross-border  situations.  Policy  option  3  would  be  the  most  effective  in 
addressing the problem of non-recognition and therefore in achieving the policy objectives of the initiative.  

The  preferred  option  would  mainly  have  a  legal  impact.  It  would  ensure  the  continuity  of  the  parenthood  of 
children in cross-border situations for all purposes and would have a clear positive impact on the protection of the 
fundamental rights of children, including their right to an identity, to non-discrimination and to a private and family 
life,  as  well  as  on  the  rights  that  children  derive  from  parenthood  under  national  law,  such  as  their  right  to 
maintenance,  succession  or  custody  as  regards  any  of  their  parents.  By  providing  legal  certainty  about  the 

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recognition  of  parenthood  in  another  Member  State  for  all  purposes,  the  preferred  option  would  have  a  positive 
impact on the exercise of the right to free movement by children and their families.  

The  preferred  option  would  have  a  positive  social  impact  as  it  would  lead  to  children  in  cross-border  situations 
being treated in the same way as local children. It would also have a positive psychological impact on children and 
their families as the instances of non-recognition of parenthood would decrease. 

Through the adoption of common EU rules, the preferred option would simplify procedures and this would result 
in significant  savings in  terms  of  costs,  time  and burden  for  both families  in  cross-border  situations  and Member 
State authorities and courts.  

•  Under  the  preferred  policy  option,  the  costs  for  recognition  procedures  and  the  number  of  court  proceedings 
seeking the recognition of parenthood would be significantly reduced. It is estimated that the average costs for 
recognition procedures borne by families would decrease by 71%, and by 90% for those families that currently 
face the most serious problems with the recognition of parenthood3. 

•  For the same reason, the preferred option would lead to significant savings in terms of costs, time and burden 
for Member State authorities and courts. It is estimated that the costs for recognition procedures borne by public 
authorities would decrease by 54%.  

The macroeconomic and environmental impacts of the preferred option would not be significant. 

What are the costs of the preferred option?  

The preferred option would not generate any costs for children or families in cross-border situations. 

The costs that the preferred option would generate for Member States would be moderate and largely outweighed by 
the efficiency gains brought about by the preferred option. 

What is the value added of the action at EU level (subsidiarity) and would the action be proportionate?  

The  problem  of  non-recognition  results  mainly  from  the  divergence  in  Member  States’  rules  in  matters  of 
parenthood with cross-border implications. This problem cannot be solved by Member States acting on their own. 
The objectives of the initiative would therefore be better achieved at EU level in accordance with the principle of 
subsidiarity. 

The  initiative  would  respect  the  principle  of  proportionality  as  it  would  not  interfere  with  the  Member  States’ 
competence for the adoption of substantive family law, including the definition of family and the establishment of 
parenthood  in  domestic  situations,  or  the  Member  States’  rules  on  the  recognition  of  marriages  or  registered 
partnerships concluded abroad.  

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most serious problems with parenthood recognition. 

From an estimated average of EUR 5 856 to EUR 578 per case for the families that currently face the 

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