Letter: British citizens must be allowed to benefit from EU divorce laws

Written by Diana Wallis and published in The Independent on Mon 24th Jul 2006

Sir: Franco Frattini, the European Commissioner for Justice, is right to argue that the proposed legal reform on applicable law and jurisdiction in divorce matters will simplify life for couples in the EU ("EU plans legal reforms to end divorce shopping", 18 July). But will UK citizens be allowed to benefit from it?

As an MEP, I know only too well from my casework that cross-border divorce is an increasing phenomenon as people make a reality of the freedom of movement offered by an EU without borders. The current system is a tangled and impenetrable legal web for most "international couples" who encounter difficulties.

Sadly, the UK may not allow British citizens to benefit from this simplification. The UK has a potential opt-out from all proposed legislation relating to justice and home affairs. Only a couple of months ago, the UK government quietly exercised this opt-out on a proposed new regime designed to facilitate the payment of cross-border maintenance obligations. This move will deprive many of our citizens of the more direct systems of payment due to be offered across the EU.

As the new proposals from the Commission deal with a related legal area there is again reason to fear that the Government will cave in to a few strident voices in the English legal community. Why should those using the British courts, at a time of stress in their personal lives, be presented with a more hostile and complicated system than elsewhere in the EU? Who, we might ask, is the law there to serve? Surely this time the Commission has it right' it's about making life easier for individuals and guaranteeing fair and efficient access to justice for all in their daily lives across the EU.