Viewing cable 04BRUSSELS2496, VERHEUGEN RESPONSE TO DEPUTY SECRETARY ON ROMANIAN

Viewing cable 04BRUSSELS2496, VERHEUGEN RESPONSE TO DEPUTY SECRETARY ON ROMANIAN

If you are new to these pages, please read an introduction on the structure of a cable as well as how to discuss them with others. See also the FAQs

Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin

04BRUSSELS2496 2004-06-10 12:56 2011-08-30 01:44 CONFIDENTIAL Embassy Brussels

This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

101256Z Jun 04

C O N F I D E N T I A L BRUSSELS 002496

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/10/2014

TAGS: PREL CASC CVIS RO EUN USEU BRUSSELS

SUBJECT: VERHEUGEN RESPONSE TO DEPUTY SECRETARY ON ROMANIAN

ADOPTIONS

Classified By: Rick Holtzapple, PolOff, Reason 1.4 B/D

¶1. (U) The cabinet of Enlargement Commissioner Gunter

Verheugen has faxed us a letter from the Commissioner to

Deputy Secretary Armitage, replying to the Deputy Secretary's

letter of May 4 on the issue of Romanian adoptions. The full

text of the letter is in para 3 below, and a copy of the

original fax with signature has been faxed to EUR/ERA and

Embassy Bucharest.

¶2. (C) The letter confirms what we already know from the copy

of the report from the Commission to the GoR on the issue

that was provided to Embassy Bucharest. The Commission's

legal experts have told the Romanian government that the

"proposed approach to pursue on the policy of intercountry

adoptions with a very limited exception" is seen as

"essentially in line" with the EU's demands.

¶3. (U) Beginning of Text:

Dear Mr. Secretary of State,

Thank you for your letter of 4 May 2004 on the issue of

intercountry adoptions from Romania.

I would like to clarify that the European Commission is not

against intercountry adoption as such. However, the UN

Convention on the Rights of the Child foresees that

inter-country adoption may be considered only if the child

cannot be placed in a foster or an adoptive family or cannot

in any suitable manner be cared for in the child's country of

origin. This "last resort" provision is consonant with the

provision in the UN convention that refers to the

"desirability of continuity in a child's upbringing and to

the child's ethnic, religious, cultural and linguistic

background."

All Member States of the EU have ratified the UN Convention

on the Rights of the Child and therefore should respect the

above mentioned principles. Therefore the Commission

considers that the moratorium on intercountry adoptions is

necessary as long as no legislation is in force that fully

complies with this convention, and as long as no

administrative capacity exists to implement this legislation.

Following Prime Minister Nastase's request for legal advice

on children's rights and adoption, the Commission set up an

Independent Panel of EU Member State experts on family law.

In its latest report, which I have forwarded to Prime

Minister Nastase, the Panel noted the fundamental change made

by Romania on the issue of intercountry adoption. The

proposed approach to pursue on the policy of intercountry

adoptions with a very limited exception was considered

essentially in line with the UN Convention on the Rights of

the Child.

Our primordial focus must be on getting the system of child

care in Romania right so that we get tot he usual situation

in the Member States of the EU where international adoptions

are the exception. Therefore, the EU has supported Romania

in its efforts to improve the quality of public care for

children. This meant that large residential establishments

were closed down and replaced with a selection of child

protection alternatives ranging from smaller homes and foster

care to day-care centres. Of course there remains work to be

done, but Romania surely has come a long way in resolving the

issue of children in public care.

I have been informed that recently a videoconference on this

issue was held between the Washington State Department and my

services, and that it was considered useful to have both

sides express their respective positions.

Yours sincerely,

/S/