Answer given by Mr Hahn on behalf of the Commission

7.5.2014

The Commission does not systematically monitor the terminology used in school forms in Member States, as it has no general powers to intervene in education systems at national or local level, in accordance with Article 165 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. The EU has also no competence to rule on the form or contents of public documents issued in Member States (whether issued by a public authority or a private entity entrusted with public duties). The Commission adopted in 2013 a proposal providing that public documents issued in another Member State, including civil status documents, must be accepted as authentic without the need for an authentication stamp (the apostille).

The rights of the family are recognised and enshrined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (Article 7, Article 9, Article 33). Moreover, Article 24 of the Charter stipulates that every child shall have the right to maintain on a regular basis a personal relationship and direct contact with both his or her parents, unless that is contrary to his or her interests. However, according to its Article 51 (1), the provisions of the Charter are addressed to Member States only when they are implementing Union law.

The Commission recalls that family law is a Member State competence and that the European Union currently does not have general powers in respect of the rights of the child. The Commission has only competence as regards judicial cooperation in family law having cross-border implications. More generally, international human rights treaties focus on the relationship between the child and his or her parents and family members but they omit to regulate the matter put forward by the Honourable Member.

OJ C 355, 08/10/2014