On 16 March this year, the European Commission published proposals for a regulation to bring legal clarity to the property rights for married international couples and for registered partnerships with an international dimension.
The first regulation is intended to apply to married couples, as marriage is a legal institution recognised in all the 27 member states of the European Union, and the second to registered partnerships, which are a legal institution recognised in 14 member states of the European Union (Germany, Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Hungary, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Sweden and the United Kingdom). The propositions do not harmonise nor do they amend the substantive legal provisions on marriages and registered partnerships in the member states. Both these proposals are specifically aimed at enabling international couples to determine the legislation applicable to their property rights and the competent jurisdiction, particularly when the marriage or partnership ends. They are intended to establish rules for recognising and enforcing court judgments relating to the assets of the couples concerned in all the member states of the European Union by way of a single, streamlined procedure.
Consult the proposal relating to matrimonial property regimes [2]
Consult the proposal relating to registered partnerships [2]