EU Justice ministers from 14 Member states reached a political agreement regarding some rules which will legal certainty to international couples wishing to divorce. Thanks to these rules, if the spouses agree, they will be able to choose to a certain extent the law applicable to their divorce or legal separation.

The political agreement reached on international marriages between the ministers of Justice of 14 Member states will therefore apply to Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Latvia, Luxembourg, Hungary, Malta, Austria, Portugal, Romania and Slovenia. These rules will not be applicable to all Member states given that a full political agreement was not possible, and therefore a group of States decided to ask for the application of a reinforced cooperation procedure for the first time since the adoption of the Treaty of Lisbon.

In any case, countries wishing to join the existing enhanced cooperation can do so at any time, notifying the Council and the Commission, which will then take the necessary decision following the Lisbon Treaty provisions to that effect.

Although these new rules provide for a comprehensive legal framework in matrimonial matters  ensuring legal certainty and predictability, they do not cover the consequences of a divorce or legal separation such as property issues, maintenance obligations, parental responsibility or the name of the spouses. Preliminary questions within the context of divorce such as the validity of a marriage are also excluded from this regulation.

Estimations show that about 16 million married couples will be affected by these new rules given their international character. This represents around 13% of the total estimated 122 million marriages in the European Union.

The new rules also respect the family law traditions of the participating Member states. For example where the law of a member state does not provide for divorce such as it is the case for Malta, or does not recognise the marriage in question like cases of same sex marriages, the court of that member state is not obliged to pronounce a divorce or a legal separation.

After this political agreement among EU Justice Ministers meeting in the Council, the European Parliament will give its opinion on the legislation before it can enter into force. The Council is expected to formally adopt the new legislation before the end of the year. It will enter into force 18 months after adoption.