European Commission wants EU members to acknowledge all parents

Children must be able to request a European parent certificate that is accepted by all member states of the European Union, the Commission proposes, as reported by the Dutch daily Reformatorisch Dagblad.

The proposals of the Commission should give all children and parents in the European Union the same rights, Euro commissioner Didier Reynders says. He is responsible for the legislation and says that the proposal's aim, for example, is to ensure that the guardianship of children works the same way in all countries, that parents can represent their children and that the inheritance is legally solid. Currently, two million children and their parents are at risk that a state violates their rights, Reynders says. "That situation is unacceptable for the Commission."

It is unlikely that EU states, such as Hungary, will agree to the proposals. And without the support of these countries, the bills cannot be accepted. This is a construction that has been controversy among the member states, as often, the same countries block proposals. Yet, Reynders will not give up in advance. He wants to try to convince all member states. If that does not work, he says there are "of course possibilities to continue" the plans with only the countries that do support the ideas.

Reynders emphasises that EU members will still be able to decide whom they want to see as parents. The Commission only wants countries to accept each other's parent recognitions. Over the last few years, several couples have been refused recognition by other member states.