Proposal for a Council Decision authorising certain Member States to accept, in the interest of the European Union, the accession of Kazakhstan to the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction

The aim of the Hague Convention of 25 October 1980 on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, to date ratified by 93 countries including all EU Member States, is to restore the status quo by means of the prompt return of wrongfully removed or retained children through a system of cooperation among central authorities appointed by its Contracting Parties. As the prevention of child abduction is an essential part of the EU's policy to promote the rights of the child, the European Union is active at international level to improve the application of the 1980 Convention and encourages third States to accede to it.

Kazakhstan deposited the accession instrument to the 1980 Convention on 3 June 2013. The Convention entered into force in Kazakhstan on 1 September 2013. As the matter of international child abduction falls into the exclusive external competence of the European Union, the decision whether to accept the accession of Kazakhstan has to be taken at EU level by means of a Council Decision. Member States should thus make the declaration of acceptance concerning the accession of Kazakhstan in the interest of the European Union.

EUR-Lex: COM(2016)368: Follow the progress of this proposal through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2016:368:FIN

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