According to the new EU Regulation in matters related to maintenance obligation in cross-border situations, applicable from June 18th 2011, children and families across the European Union will benefit from speedier maintenance payments when families split up. Thanks to a new EU-wide system, absent parents will no longer be able to evade their obligations.

Under these new rules a decision taken in one Member state regarding maintenance obligations will be enforceable in any other Member state with no need for any special procedure. These rules will not only speed up procedures, but will also considerably reduce the costs originated by these kind of situations. Furthermore, Regulation (EC) Nº 4/2009  also sets up rules on co-operation between central authorities to provide assistance in relation to maintenance applications.

These rules, which are applicable at EU level since June 2011, are part of the efforts put forward by the European Commission in order to facilitate the relationships affecting transnational families and couples, such as it is the case for the Regulation implementing enhanced cooperation for divorce and separation for international couples. It also marks one step further, after the European Union signature of the Hague Maintenance Convention, back in April 6th 2011, which created a common legal framework between the EU and non-EU countries allowing authorities to cooperate in enforcing maintenance claims and ensuring debtors can no longer escape by leaving the EU.

As highlighted by Vice-President and EU’s Justice Commissioner, Viviane Reding, these rules aim to ensure that interest of the children is always protected, by providing instruments to make sure those families will still receive financial support if a parent lives away from them in another EU country. Indeed, it is estimated that there is about one million divorces in the European Union every year and that there are about 16 million international couples. This means that situations where families need to receive maintenance payments when one of the parents lives in a different country, are more and more frequent.

Under the new EU system, the Commission will closely supervise the enforcement of these new rules in Member states in order to ensure that the requirements are met and will also be entitle to take due measures if appropriate.