The representatives of the EU Member States are currently negotiating a proposal from the EU Commission for a Council Regulation on the mutual recognition of parenthood in the EU. The aim of the planned regulation is to ensure that the parenthood of a child that is legally established in one EU member state is also recognised by the other member states. This is intended to clarify with legal certainty that parental responsibility and the resulting rights and obligations are equally valid in all member states.
In December 2022, the European Commission presented a proposal for a Council Regulation. The proposal contains provisions on applicable law, international jurisdiction, rules on the cross-border recognition of parental decisions and the acceptance of official documents and the introduction of a European certificate of parenthood. In December 2023, the European Parliament approved the proposal without any significant changes. The vote of the Member States is currently being negotiated. There are some points of conflict in the public debate regarding the proposal. These mainly concern possible effects on existing national regulations, in particular regulations relating to same-sex marriages, adoptions and the recognition of surrogacy. The critical voices suspect that this new regulation could lead to a legalisation of parenthood that is not intended by national legislators.
In their position, the AGF demands that the discussion on the topic must take place in a fact-based manner against the background of a pluralistic society in which different family forms have their place regardless of origin, gender, religion and sexual orientation. To this end, the situations of different family forms must be taken into account and measures to improve the reality of families’ lives must be implemented without discrimination. To this end, during the discussion of the new parenthood regulation, it’s also the critical points that must be openly addressed. However, the core objectives of the proposal to increase legal certainty and predictability for all families in the European Union with regard to the recognition of parenthood must not be lost sight of.