The Commission is expected to propose allowing people to choose which legal jurisdiction they would come under, based on their {{U}}(1) {{/U}} or their residency. But the proposal is set to {{U}}(2) {{/U}} because of the very different laws on divorce that apply across the EU. The Commission wants to {{U}}(3) {{/U}} problems over which law to apply when, for example, a married couple from one member state is {{U}}(4) {{/U}} in another member state or when the couple is of different EU nationalities.
The {{U}}(5) {{/U}} of member states are said to be {{U}}(6) {{/U}} the idea and responded positively to a {{U}}(6) {{/U}} which followed the {{U}}(8) {{/U}} of a Commission Green Paper. With 15 percent of German divorces each year involving couples of different nationalities, the government of Berlin {{U}}(9) {{/U}} see resolved the issue of which laws should apply.
But some member states are expected to resist the {{U}}(10) {{/U}} which would involve allowing different divorce laws to be applied in their countries. For example, in Ireland where the divorce law states a couple must have been separated for four years, establish that their marriage has broken down and be offered {{U}}(11) {{/U}}, a couple from Sweden could apply to an Irish court to allow them to divorce under Swedish law, where divorce can be {{U}}(12) {{/U}} quickly.
The Irish government's {{U}}(13) {{/U}} to the Commission on the Green Paper stated: "Ireland is not in favor of allowing {{U}}(14) {{/U}} to choose the applicable law, as this could be open to abuse.., such abuse would be likely to {{U}}(15) {{/U}} most on divorce regimes, such as that of Ireland, which require a relatively long separation period." Ireland, like the UK, however, is allowed to choose whether to "opt-in" to such a proposal under rules agreed in the Amsterdam treaty. Malta has no such {{U}}(16) {{/U}} but could {{U}}(17) {{/U}} the proposal in the Council of Ministers since {{U}}(18) {{/U}} approval will be required.
"It is going to lead to {{U}}(19) {{/U}} ," said Geoffrey Shannon, Irish expert on the Commission on European Family Law, which examines the {{U}}(20) {{/U}} of EU family law.
The proposal would also mean that judges would have to be trained in the divorce law of all 25 member states.