Adoption: Cross-Border Legal Issues and Gaps in the European Union

Briefing 15-12-2015

This note summarises issues relating to the current legal framework for cross-border adoption matters – legal gaps and consequent obstacles to free movement of citizens – and avenues for solutions. It is draws on the background briefings prepared by independent experts and presented at the JURI-PETI workshop on ‘Adoption: Cross-border legal issues’ held at the European Parliament (EP) on 1 December 2015. The workshop had two main objectives: on the one hand, to respond to a number of petitions submitted to the EP on issues relating to adoptions without parental consent involving non-national children and, on the other hand, to provide some background reflections for the legislative own-initiative opinion which the Legal Affairs Committee is preparing.