Brussels, 9 June 2016
European
Commission – Press release
Final adoption of new rules to cut red tape on citizens' public
documents
Today the European Parliament has adopted the
regulation, proposed by the Commission, to cut costs and formalities for
citizens who need to present a public document in another EU country.
Currently, citizens moving to or living in another
EU country must obtain a stamp to prove that their public documents (such as a
birth, marriage or death certificate) are authentic. Under the new regulation,
this stamp and the bureaucratic procedures linked to it will no longer be
required when presenting public documents issued in one EU country to the
authorities of another EU country.
The regulation deals only with the authenticity of
public documents, so Member States will continue to apply their national rules
concerning the recognition of the content and effects of a public document
issued in another Union country.
"We have good news for people who move to
another EU country for example to study or work," said Věra Jourová,
Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality. "These
citizens often need to go through costly and time-consuming bureaucratic
procedures to present a public document to get married or obtain a job in the
country they live in. Today, we put an end to this red tape and help people
move easily across the European Union.”
The new regulation will put an end to a number of
bureaucratic procedures:
· public documents (for example, birth, marriage or the absence of a
criminal record) issued in a Union country must be accepted as authentic in
another Member State without the need to carry an authenticity stamp (i.e. the
apostille);
· The regulation also abolishes the obligation for citizens to provide in
all cases a certified copy and a certified translation of their public
documents. Citizens can also use a multilingual standard form, available in all
EU languages, to present as translation aid attached to their public document
to avoid translation requirements;
· The regulation sets safeguards against fraud: if a receiving authority
has reasonable doubts about the authenticity of a public document, it will be
able to check its authenticity with the issuing authority in the other country
through the existing IT platform, the Internal Market Information System or
IMI.
Next steps: Member
States have two years and a half from the date of entry into force of the
regulation to adopt all necessary measures to allow for the smooth application
of the regulation at the end of this period.
Background:
Around 13 million EU citizens live in another EU
country than their own. According to a Eurobarometer survey, 73% of EU citizens believe
that measures should be taken to improve the circulation of public documents
between EU countries. Citizens often complain about the red tape and costs that
they need to bear in order to have a public document issued in one Union
country considered as authentic in another Union country. These time-consuming
formalities are excessive and unnecessary and impair the enjoyment by citizens
of their rights under the Treaties.
ANNEX
The Regulation covers public documents in the
following areas:
- birth
- a person being alive
- death
- name
- marriage, including capacity to marry and
marital status
- divorce, legal separation or marriage
annulment
- registered partnership, including capacity
to enter into a registered partnership and registered partnership status
- dissolution of a registered partnership,
legal separation or annulment of a registered partnership
- parenthood
- adoption
- domicile and/or residence
- nationality
- absence of a criminal record and
- the right to vote and stand as a candidate
in municipal elections and elections to the European Parliament.
The Regulation introduces multilingual standard
forms as translation aids of public documents concerning:
- birth
- a person being alive
- death
- marriage (including capacity to marry and
marital status)
- registered partnership (including capacity
to enter into a registered partnership and registered partnership status)
- domicile and/or residence and
- absence of a criminal record.
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