Katherine Zappone (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Both Senator Leyden and I are wearing the EU Presidency colours and I want to put on record my thanks for this beautiful scarf. The Minister of State outlined great progress and I thank her for the deep respect she shows for this House. It is much appreciated. I was particularly thrilled to hear about the deal she is working on with President Obama. Should the Minister of State need any extra help on the negotiating team, I have a really good American accent and I know how Americans do deals?

I want to focus on the commitment that the Presidency will be citizenship orientated. The Minister of State launched the European Year of the Citizen and spoke at the Brussels conference to note the 20th anniversary of the introduction of EU citizenship. I have heard the Minister of State express the hope that people reach a better understanding of the rights and opportunities they enjoy as citizens of the Union and find out how to overcome the obstacles to using those rights.

Again, like Senator Leyden, I was recently in Brussels but I was chairing the European Parliament's legal affairs committee workshop which explored the question of whether EU citizens enjoyed free movement, and we examined a particular area that is an obstacle to the free movement of citizens: the recognition of civil status documents and the effects of such documents in other member states. As the Minister of State is aware, civil status registration is the way in which countries keep records of births, deaths and marital status of their people. Changes in the form of cross-border living and working have developed quickly since the start of the European project, but change at a legislative level to respond to this new way of living and working has been slow. EU citizens and their families face a patchwork of civil status rules across the EU. It is worth noting that more than 12 million people study, work or live in a member state of which they are not nationals. When the recognition of civil status is hindered or unduly cumbersome, citizens of the EU are unable to avail fully of their right to freedom of movement.

An estimated 350,000 cross-border marriages take place in the EU every year. That estimate demonstrates that this issue affects significant numbers. Many Irish people travel to Rome to get married. The Italian authorities, however, require that a couple get a letter of freedom from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade confirming they are not already married. This letter is sent to the Irish embassy in Rome which then sends it on to the Italian civil authorities. If an Irish person living in Italy wished to marry a person from another member state, the process is even more complicated. An Irish citizen marrying a Belgian national living in Italy would face problems because Belgium does not issue letters of freedom so the couple would have to go to court in Italy to get married in the country where they live.

I know from a personal perspective that lesbian and gay people are particularly affected by these barriers. If a same-sex couple are civilly married in Spain, have a family and move to Ireland, the marriage is recognised as a civil partnership but they lose parental rights to the children. In Spain, the children have two parents but in Ireland they only have one parent.

As community law stands at present, regulation of civil status remains within the competence of the member states. Despite this, they must comply with EU law, particularly treaty provisions on a citizen's freedom to move and reside in the territory of member states.

The European Union's priorities for developing an area of justice, freedom and security for the five years are set out in the Stockholm programme. The European Commission has announced proposals for European legislation in this area in 2013. The first proposal relates to the free movement of documents by eliminating legalisation formalities between member states. This may cover cases similar to the examples I cited. The second relates to recognising the effects of certain civil status records in order that the legal status granted in one member state can be recognised and have the same legal consequences in another member state. The European Parliament has expressed support for the Commission's plan by way of resolution.

Many of the problems posed by cross-border living can be addressed through legislation. I understand the Minister of State will consider this issue in some of the Strasbourg debates. However, the practical problems posed by such circumstances require a more innovative approach. The International Commission on Civil Status, ICCS, which made a presentation at the conference I chaired, seeks to address problems concerning the personal status of people involved in cross-border situations. It has developed and is piloting an information technology platform for the international communication of civil status data by electronic means. The ICCS data exchange platform would make it easier for citizens to prove their personal and family status and make international requests for civil status data simpler to carry out. It would also help to combat fraud, which is a key concern. This is a new frontier in EU living.

I have with me a briefing document from the president of the ICCS, Mr. Duncan Macniven, which I would like to share with the Minister of State and her officials. Mr. Macniven pointed out to me that as a result of advances in this technology, practical measures have become available to support freedom of movement. What is needed, however, is the political will to apply these measures more widely than is currently the case. For this reason, I ask the Minister of State to investigate these issues as part of the priorities of the Irish Presidency.