Recording below.
The webinar was chaired by Pietro Sirena (ELI Second Vice-President; Dean of the Law School, Bocconi University), who opened the event by introducing the ELI project and highlighting its objective of contributing to the ongoing European debate on the recognition of parenthood and the protection of children in cross-border situations. He emphasised that the project builds on the European Commission’s proposal for a Regulation on the recognition of parenthood between Member States and aims to offer constructive amendments grounded in private international law and children’s rights.
During the first panel, Ilaria Pretelli (Senior Fellow, Swiss Institute of Comparative Law) and Susanne Gössl (Director, Institute for Private International Law and Comparative Law, University of Bonn) presented the core findings of the ELI project.
Pretelli explained that the project seeks to overcome ideological divisions surrounding sensitive issues such as assisted reproduction and surrogacy, focusing instead on the practical legal problems faced by families moving across borders. The report adopts an ‘outcome-neutral’ approach to private international law, aiming to ensure coordination between legal systems without imposing substantive solutions on Member States. It also integrates perspectives from children’s rights, LGBTIQ families, and women’s rights, emphasising the importance of safeguarding the best interests of the child, including the child’s right to identity and to know their origins.
Gössl outlined the project’s main technical recommendations. These include strengthening the child-centred approach of the Commission proposal by emphasising the child’s right to be heard and the importance of protecting the child’s identity. The report proposes establishing the habitual residence of the child as the central jurisdictional connecting factor, replacing multiple alternative jurisdiction grounds that could create legal uncertainty and encourage forum shopping. Additional recommendations address applicable law, the role of public policy exceptions, and the recognition of decisions and authentic instruments.
The speakers also presented the proposal to introduce a European Certificate of Affiliation, designed to facilitate cross-border recognition of parenthood where minimum standards are respected. The report further suggests the creation of a centralised European register, intended to improve legal certainty and help protect the child’s right to know their origins.
Providing the perspective of institutions protecting children’s rights, Elina Pekkarinen (Ombudsperson for Children, Finland) highlighted the growing diversity of family structures and the practical challenges that arise when families move across borders. She stressed that a child’s legal status should not change or weaken simply because their parents have different nationalities or move between countries. Pekkarinen also pointed to complex situations involving surrogacy and multi-parent arrangements, underlining the need for legal solutions that prioritise the best interests of the child and ensure stability in family relationships.
From the perspective of EU law and free movement, Alina Tryfonidou (Assistant Professor of Law, University of Cyprus) examined the implications of the Court of Justice of the European Union’s case law, including the VMA (Pancharevo) judgment. She explained that while the Court has recognised the need for cross-border recognition of parenthood for the purposes of EU free movement rights, important gaps remain when it comes to rights governed by national law. The proposed Regulation, and the improvements suggested by the ELI project, could therefore play a crucial role in addressing situations of ‘limping status’, where family relationships recognised in one Member State are not recognised in another.
The webinar concluded with a Q&A session, during which participants discussed issues such as the recognition of parenthood established in third countries, the role of public policy exceptions, and the challenges faced by migrant families when legal recognition of parenthood is delayed across jurisdictions.
