Saastamoinen to Iara: position on ica
From:
Date: Wed, Dec 14, 2011 at 11:29 AM
Subject: RE: Intercountry adoption and DIRECTIVE 2011/36/EU
To: Iara de Witte
Cc: Patrizia.DE-LUCA@ec.europa.eu
Dear Ms de Witte,
Thank you for your written questions received with your message of 5 December 2011.
From our previous correspondence we understood that you would like to receive information on the Commission's position on intercountry adoption in the context of your Master Thesis on Directive 2011/36/EU and your research question " whether it contains sufficient provisions in order to combat trafficking in children for intercountry adoption" .
In this context, we would like to give you the following information which we trust you will find helpful:
As a starting point, we would like reiterate that there is no EU legislation on adoption, and thus no common Union positions. A concrete example of the fact that adoption is currently outside of Union acquis is e.g. the statement in the Brussels IIa Regulation: Decisions on adoption, measures preparatory to adoption and the annulment or revocation of adoption are expressly excluded from the scope of application of Council Regulation (EC) No 2201/2003 of 27 November 2003 concerning matrimonial matters and parental responsibility.
Adoption is a matter of core Member State sovereignty and DG Justice/the Commission is very careful in expressing any position on this sensitive question. We suggest therefore that, for the purpose of your research, the focus should be on the current state of play, and refrain from commenting on individual quotations from the discussions, which took place at the occasion of the Joint Conference with the Council of Europe in Strasbourg in December 2009.
The "Stockholm Programme" has identified the Rights of the Child as a priority area and called for an ambitious EU strategy on the rights of the child Vice-President Viviane Reding took under her responsibility the relatively new portfolio for Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship in March 2010, and since then the protection and the promotion of children's rights has become one of the Commission's political priorities. The first tangible result is the adoption by the Commission of the the Communication on children's rights of February 2011, where concrete actions in areas of EU competence in favour of the rights of the child for the period 2011-2014 are presented. For your convenience you can find the Communication on http://ec.europa.eu/justice/fundamental-rights/rights-child/eu-agenda/index_en.htm . EU As you will see, legislation on international adoption is not part of these actions mentioned in the EU Agenda for the Rights of Child. This corresponds also to the Stockholm Action Plan of April 2010, that did not mention adoptions as an area of future Commission work.
Therefore, international adoption is always governed by national laws and international conventions, in particular the Hague Convention of 29 May 1993 on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Inter-country Adoption. All EU Member States are party to this Convention , that is widely ratified all over the world. Its implementation is monitored by a special commission to which the European Commission participates as contact organ of the EU to the Hague Conference on Private International Law. The Convention stipulates that international adoption can be envisaged only if the child cannot be dealt with in a suitable way in his or her State of origin (principle of subsidiarity). The principle of the best interests of the child is the overriding principle in the Convention. At this stage, the 1993 Hague Convention on Inter-country Adoption remains the appropriate legal framework to ensure that international adoptions are carried out in the best interests of the child. An inter-country adoption that respects the provisions and procedures of the 1993 Hague Convention is recognised in all EU Member States. These are our general policy positions, with reference to the fact that the EU is a member to the Hague Conference, and the Union and the Commission support the Hague Conventions, in particular those that have been ratified by all EU Member States.
Nevertheless, even if it is not envisaged to propose EU legislation in this matter, the Commission, is following closely the issue of international adoption within the European Union, given the link between adoption and children’s rights. The rights set in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child will continue to be the benchmark of EU policy development in this respect.
Kind regards
Salla Saastamoinen
--------------------------------
Head of Unit
JUST.A.1 Civil justice policy
Directorate General Justice
European Commission
Tel. +32-2-29 69463
Gsm. +32-498-9 69463
E-mail: salla.saastamoinen@ec.europa.eu
http://ec.europa.eu/civiljustice/
http://ec.europa.eu/justice_home/judicialatlascivl/html/index_en.htm
From: iara de witte
Sent: Monday, December 05, 2011 11:47 PM
To: SAASTAMOINEN Salla (JUST)
Cc: DE LUCA Patrizia (JUST)
Subject: Re: commission's position on ICA
Dear Ms. Saastamoinen, Ms. De Luca,
Thank you very much for your reply. attached you will find my questions concerning the position of the Com on ICA, the presentation at the 2009 CoE Com Conference, and the outcomes of the report presented there.
I'd like to thank you in advance,
Yours sincerely,
Iara de Witte
On Fri, Nov 11, 2011 at 8:39 AM, wrote:
Dear Ms de Witte,
Thank you for your message. Ms De Luca has quite rightly explained that since there are no Union level measures on international adoptions in the field of civil justice cooperation, we do not have detailed EU positions in this area. Rather, the Commission supports in general the work of the Hague International Conference on Private International Law, and the 1993 Convention on intercountry adoptions.
Nevertheless, please do not hesitate to send any questions that you may have. We will look at them and reply as far as possible.
Yours,
Salla Saastamoinen
--------------------------------
Head of Unit
JUST.A.1 Civil justice policy
Directorate General Justice
European Commission
Tel. +32-2-29 69463
Gsm. +32-498-9 69463
E-mail: salla.saastamoinen@ec.europa.eu
http://ec.europa.eu/civiljustice/
http://ec.europa.eu/justice_home/judicialatlascivl/html/index_en.htm
From: iara de witte [mailto:iaradewitte@gmail.com]
Sent: Thursday, November 10, 2011 4:44 PM
To: SAASTAMOINEN Salla (JUST); DE LUCA Patrizia (JUST)
Subject: commission's position on ICA
Dear Ms. Saastamoinen, Ms. De Luca,
Recently I contacted Ms. De Luca for an interview about the Commission's position on the issue of intercountry adoption. She indicated that it was not possible for her to receive me. However, I have some questions about this position. Maybe it will be possible for you to answer my questions if I send them in writing?
Yours sincerely,
Iara de Witte
On Wed, Nov 9, 2011 at 10:19 AM, wrote:
Dear Ms De Witte,
as I previously said , the official Commission's position on the issue of international adoption is expressed in the document that I have forwarded to you. I am sorry but I have nothing to add to this and I have other committments during these days.
Best regards,
Patrizia De Luca
From: iara de witte [mailto:iaradewitte@gmail.com]
Sent: Tuesday, November 08, 2011 6:18 PM
To: DE LUCA Patrizia (JUST)
Subject: REMINDER: intercountry adoption and DIRECTIVE 2011/36/EU
Dear Ms. De Luca,
I am in Brussels this week until Thursday. I hope there is an oppurtunity to meet.
Yours sincerely,
Iara de Witte
On Thu, Nov 3, 2011 at 8:56 AM, iara de witte wrote:
Dear Ms. De Luca,
Thank you for answering my email. I know that you are dealing with ICA from the civil side and I still would like to have an interview with you about this.
Next week (7 till 10 November) I am in Brussels. I would be glad to know when you would have an opportunity to talk to me.
Best regards,
Iara de Witte
On Mon, Oct 31, 2011 at 10:24 AM, wrote:
Dear Ms De Witte,
the directive 2011/36/EU is not in the remit of our Unit, dealing with judicial cooperation in civil matters, therefore I am not in a position to say whether it contains or not sufficient provisions to combat trafficking of children in relation to intercountry adoption.
However, we deal with inter-country adoption only from the civil side. As there is not yet an EU legislation on the subject, we rely on the provisions of the 2003 Hague Convention on Inter-country adoption to which all Member States are parties.
You will find the Commission's position in the proceedings of the joint Conference CoE-COM held in Strasbourg end 2009. There have been no developments since then.
I hope this helps.
Best regards,
Patrizia De Luca
Team leader/Chef d'équipe
European Commission
DG JUSTICE
Unit A.1 - Civil Justice Policy
MO 59 02/002
Patrizia.DE-LUCA@ec.europa.eu
http://ec.europa.eu/civiljustice
From: iara de witte [mailto:iaradewitte@gmail.com]
Sent: Friday, October 28, 2011 9:26 PM
To: DE LUCA Patrizia (JUST)
Subject: intercountry adoption and DIRECTIVE 2011/36/EU
Dear Ms. De Luca,
For my study European Policy at the University of Amsterdam, I am writing my Master thesis on DIRECTIVE 2011/36/EU on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and protecting its victims. My research question is on whether this new Directive contains sufficient provisions in order to combat trafficking in children for intercountry adoption.
Last Thurday, the 27th of October, I have spoken to Mr. Gert Bogers, Expert on Trafficking in Human Beings at DG Home. Since he does not know a lot about the subject of intercountry adoption, he suggested me to meet you.
For my research, it would be very useful to benefit from your experience. Therefore I would like to have an interview with you about this. I hope that it will suit you to receive me.
Kind regards,
Iara de Witte
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