Infringement proceedings in violation of EC2201/2003 (Brussels IIa) against member state ?
Dear Justice (JUST),
Under the right of access to documents in the EU treaties, as developed in Regulation 1049/2001, I am requesting documents which contain the following information:
On what individual dates (initially and follow up information with numbering the cases) has the European Commission received information about a possible violation of the EC2201/2003 regulation since January 2008 up to now. What was the source, the information was coming from (a EU citizen, a member orf parliament etc)?
From what country was the court order coming/decided and in what country was this order registered for enforcement (each individual case, please use the original numbering from above).
What was the subject of the order that should have been enforced (divorce, child contact etc) ?
On what date was there an internal decision about the investigation and what was the result of each individual case (use again the numbering from above).
When and how often has the European Commission contacted the member state where it looked like that there was no enforcement ?
When and how often has the Commission started infringement proceedings ? Also let me know about proceedings at the EU court of justice in each individual case ?
This request is also in reference of the consultation of the applicability of the EC2201/2003 (Brussels IIa) regulation until 18th June 2014 where every citizen can take part
http://ec.europa.eu/justice/newsroom/civ...
Yours faithfully,
Vinzenz Zinser
Dear Mr Zinser,
Thank you for your request for access to documents. Unfortunately you have not indicated your postal address that is required for registering and handling your request in line with the procedural requirements.
Please send us your full postal address at your earliest convenience. Pending your reply, we reserve the right to refuse the registration of your request.
You may, of course, use directly the electronic form for entering your request:
http://ec.europa.eu/transparency/regdoc/...
Kind regards,
JUST ACCESS TO DOCUMENTS
Dear Justice (JUST),
i don't agree that you need my adress.
But, if you feel happy, you can reach me under my adress below.
Yours faithfully,
Vinzenz Zinser
[POSTAL ADDRESS]
Dear Justice (JUST),
I am waiting for an answer.
By law the authority should have already responded and answered my question.
Yours faithfully,
Vinzenz Zinser
Subject: Your application for access to documents - Ref GestDem No
2014/3459
Dear Sir,
Please be informed that a reply to your requests has been sent to the
address provided on 6 August 2014 via registered e-mail with
acknowledgment of receipt.
Best regards,
European Commission
Directorate-General for Justice
Civil Justice Policy Unit
Dear Justice (JUST),
Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.
I am writing to request an internal review of Justice (JUST)'s handling of my FOI request 'Infringement proceedings in violation of EC2201/2003 (Brussels IIa) against member state ?'.
As I am personally aware of a case, where the EU Commission has been informed about initially in March/April 2010, there must be documents. This case was ongoing for several years even in 2014 and should still be on an ongoing status.
Nearly for sure there are also cases where EU inhabitants informed the commission and they maybe also asked for guidance and help. Otherwise there would have been no need to prepare papers from experts.
Furthermore, if there is no information and there are no documents, why then the EU commission and especially the EU Commissioner Viviane Reding would have made a public consultation ?
http://ec.europa.eu/justice/newsroom/civ...
As you have proved my postal address through your letter (the scan is attached) now you can reply directly and electronically to avoid further delays.
Therefore I kindly request to answer the FOI request in full detail.
If there have never been infringement proceedings against a member state, please state this. But also state the exact number of cases where the EU commission has ben contacted and also when the commission was made aware of a violation of international regulations.
A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: http://www.asktheeu.org/en/request/infri...
Yours faithfully,
Vinzenz Zinser
Dear Mr Zinser,
Thank you for your email dated 12/08/2014, registered on 21/08/2014. I hereby acknowledge receipt of your confirmatory application for access to documents (ref.: Ares(2014)2747648 – GESTDEM 2014/3459).
In accordance with Regulation 1049/2001 regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents, you will receive a response to your request within 15 working days (11/09/2014).
In case this deadline needs to be extended, you will be notified in due course.
Best regards,
ACCESS TO DOCUMENTS TEAM
European Commission
Secretariat General
Unit SG.B4 – Transparency
Dear Mr Zinser,
Following your requests for access to documents (Gestdem 2014/3459 and
3481) you will find below some complementary information with regard to
child abduction statistics.
The most recent available statistics on child abduction date from 2008 and
can be found in the document prepared by the Hague Conference on Private
International Law. A reference to these statistics is made in page 12,
footnote 56, of the Commission report on the Brussels IIa Regulation,
published in April 2014:
[1]http://ec.europa.eu/justice/civil/files/...
Yours sincerely,
[2]cid:image001.gif@01CE83E0.1EAB2A50
European Commission
Directorate-General for Justice
Civil Justice Policy Unit
References
Visible links
1. http://ec.europa.eu/justice/civil/files/...
Dear Mr Zinser,
Following your requests for access to documents (Gestdem 2014/3459 and
3481) you will find below some complementary information with regard to
child abduction statistics.
The most recent available statistics on child abduction date from 2008 and
can be found in the document prepared by the Hague Conference on Private
International Law. A reference to these statistics is made in page 12,
footnote 56, of the Commission report on the Brussels IIa Regulation,
published in April 2014:
[1]http://ec.europa.eu/justice/civil/files/...
Yours sincerely,
[2]cid:image001.gif@01CE83E0.1EAB2A50
European Commission
Directorate-General for Justice
Civil Justice Policy Unit
References
Visible links
1. http://ec.europa.eu/justice/civil/files/...
Dear Justice (JUST),
as I had already requested an internal review and the requested information was not given, now I declared the case as rejected.
Investigations about the unsucessful FOI request and further steps, like a complaint at the Ombudsman, will be done.
Yours faithfully,
Vinzenz Zinser
Dear Mr Zinser,
Please find attached a note for your attention regarding your confirmatory
applications GestDem 2014/3459-3481.
Best regards,
ACCESS TO DOCUMENTS (NL)
[1]cid:image002.jpg@01CFC082.A6D14DD0
European Commission
Secretariat General
B4 – Transparency
References
Visible links
Dear Mr Zinser,
Please find attached a note for your attention regarding your confirmatory
applications GestDem 2014/3459-3481.
Best regards,
ACCESS TO DOCUMENTS (NL)
[1]cid:image002.jpg@01CFC082.A6D14DD0
European Commission
Secretariat General
B4 – Transparency
References
Visible links
Dear Justice (JUST), Dear Mr. Kröger,
I am aware of you letter dated on 11th September 2014 asking to extend until 2nd October 2014.
Nevertheless I want to make sure that I still ask (again) for an internal review.
Further I would like to know why response to the request has been so slow ?
Please make sure that I get the answer as soon as possible.
Yours faithfully,
Vinzenz Zinser
[redundant account] left an annotation ()
The procedure for Infringement proceedings is decribed here:
http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEM...
Quoted from Memo (the link at the end of the document ist not working):
------START-------
MEMO/12/12
Strasbourg, 17 January 2012
Infringements: Frequently Asked Questions
What are the different steps in the infringements procedure?
Article 258 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFUE) gives the Commission, acting as Guardian of the Treaties, the power to take legal action against a Member State that is not respecting its obligations under EU law.
The infringement procedure begins with a request for information (a "Letter of Formal Notice") to the Member State concerned, which must be answered within a specified period, usually two months.
If the Commission is not satisfied with the information and concludes that the Member State in question is failing to fulfil its obligations under EU law, the Commission may then send a formal request to comply with EU law (a "Reasoned Opinion"), calling on the Member State to inform the Commission of the measures taken to comply within a specified period, usually two months.
If a Member State fails to ensure compliance with EU law, the Commission may then decide to refer the Member State to the Court of Justice. However, in around 95% of infringement cases, Member States comply with their obligations under EU law before they are referred to the Court. If the Court rules against a Member State, the Member State must then take the necessary measures to comply with the judgment.
In the specific case of Member States that have failed to implement Directives within the deadline agreed by the EU's Council of Ministers and the European Parliament, the Commission may request the Court to impose a financial penalty on the Member State concerned the first time the Court rules on such a case. This possibility, introduced by the Lisbon Treaty, is laid down in Article 260 (3) of the TFEU.
What happens if a Member State does not comply with Court's ruling?
If, despite the first ruling, a Member State still fails to act, the Commission may open another infringement case under Article 260 of the TFEU, with only one written warning before referring the Member State back to the Court.
If the Commission does refer a Member State back to the Court, it can propose that the Court imposes financial penalties on the Member State concerned based on the duration and severity on the infringement and the size of the Member State. There are two elements:
A lump sum depending on the time elapsed since the original Court ruling;
And a daily penalty payment for each day after a second Court ruling until the infringement ends.
Who decides on penalties in the end?
Financial penalties are proposed by the Commission and the Court may modify these amounts in its ruling.
What is the Commission's role?
The Commission is the guardian of the treaties. It is his role and obligation to ensure the protection of the public interest. The procedure is governed by the Treaty (steps, time limits). This may involve taking Member States to the European Court of Justice.
The decision to open infringement proceedings against a Member State is taken by the College. This decision is based on accurate and unbiased legal analysis conducted by the Commission services on the documents and information submitted by the parties and on any complaints.
The decisions of the Commission on infringements are collected once a month in an overall process involving different policies. These decisions are made public.
For current statistics on infringements in general, see:
http://ec.europa.eu/community_law/infrin...
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It is still not clear what individual citizen can do if the European Commission does not want to start Infrongement Proceedings. But it seems this is in Article 265 of the Lisbon Treaty.
http://www.lisbon-treaty.org/wcm/the-lis...
Article 265
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Should the European Parliament, the European Council, the Council, the Commission or the European Central Bank, in infringement of the Treaties, fail to act, the Member States and the other institutions of the Union may bring an action before the Court of Justice to have the infringement established. This Article shall apply, under the same conditions, to bodies, offices and agencies of the Union which fail to act.
The action shall be admissible only if the institution, body, office or agency concerned has first been called upon to act. If, within two months of being so called upon, the institution, body, office or agency concerned has not defined its position, the action may be brought within a further period of two months.
Article 265 (Lisbon Treaty)
Any natural or legal person may, under the conditions laid down in the preceding paragraphs, complain to the Court that an institution, body, office or agency of the Union has failed to address to that person any act other than a recommendation or an opinion.