The Hague Maintenance Convention sets up a worldwide system for recovering child support and other family maintenance payments. It creates a common legal framework between the EU and non-EU countries, thus that authorities cooperate in enforcing maintenance claims and debtors can no longer escape by leaving the EU. It also provides for free legal assistance in international child support cases.

According to this Convention, the American authorities, for example, would cooperate with the European Authorities to make sure the parents fulfil their obligations and the child still gets support. There are an estimated 16 million international couples in the EU, while around 30 million EU citizens reside in third countries. Meanwhile, 1,2 million divorces were recorded in the 27 EU countries during 2007. Bearing in mind these figures, the new system will also speed up procedures help to find hiding debtors. In addition, the Convention completes the Hague system regarding family law already in place concerning child abduction, parental responsibility and international adoption.

The 2007 Hague Maintenance Convention complements the EU internal legislation on maintenance adopted on 18 December 2008: Regulation (EC) No 4/2009 on jurisdiction, applicable law, recognition and enforcement of decisions and cooperation in matters relating to maintenance obligations. Member States need now to adopt a decision for the EU to formally conclude (or ratify) the Convention. The new Convention complements the EU's own rules, the Regulation and the Protocol, on recognising and enforcing maintenance decisions, which will apply from 18 June 2011. After the designated 18-month implementation period, the Convention will enter info force from 2013.