Swedes stand up against ‘conservative’ divorce laws

Germany encountered opposition this week to its proposal to make it simpler for couples living in other EU states or of different nationalities to divorce.

Sweden voiced the main concerns at a meeting of justice ministers in Dresden (14-16 January) because it fears the proposal could lead to Swedish courts having to enforce restrictive divorce laws from other countries. In a country where divorce can take as little as three weeks, courts would have to apply other EU laws which state that a couple must be separated for several years before a divorce can be granted and which allow for blame to be apportioned for the break-down of the marriage.

But more worryingly Swedish courts would have to recognise laws from the countries of their main immigrant groups, where rules are restrictive and arranged marriage is practised, one Swedish diplomat said. This could see Iranian or Iraqi divorce law applied in Sweden or Pakistani law applied in the UK, he added.

The matter was considered so seriously in Stockholm that the parliament was considering stepping in and instruct the government to oppose the move, the diplomat said, which would cause it to fail since unanimity is needed in the Council of Ministers.

Malta, which does not have divorce, pressed its case for an opt-out on the proposal, as it fears legal action could be taken to force Maltese courts to grant divorce to foreign nationals.

German Justice Minister Brigitte Zypries said she took these concerns on board. "We take these concerns seriously and will continue to build on the results of negotiations that have so far been achieved…our priority is to find practicable solutions for European citizens," she said.

Justice ministers appeared keener on a German proposal to bring in the Prüm treaty - agreed outside the EU - which allows for DNA, finger-prints and vehicle registration numbers to be exchanged among different states’ police forces.

Four states - the UK, Poland, the Czech Republic and Ireland - said they wanted to find out how much the proposal would cost to set up while London and Dublin also wanted to look at the legal and technical implications.

"The Treaty of Prüm is about making police forces more efficient and no interior ministry can oppose that," said one EU official after the meeting.

Ministers discussed European Commission proposals on legal migration from Africa whereby skilled workers would be matched with EU states experiencing labour shortages. Franco Frattini, the commissioner for justice, freedom and security, appealed to ministers for equipment and expertise for Frontex, the EU border agency, which needs boats and aircraft to carry out patrols on routes used by immigrants to get into Europe.

Member states were generally positive about a German proposal to set up a group involving Frattini and the interior ministers of states holding the EU presidency since 2006 and until 2009 which would assess gaps in justice co-operation. The group would examine areas where more co-operation is needed, where action on national level is sufficient and where EU laws need to be improved and simplified. Diplomats said ministers wanted the group to be transparent, report regularly to Council and be open to the inclusion of other states.

Germany encountered opposition this week to its proposal to make it simpler for couples living in other EU states or of different nationalities to divorce.