International couples, in the EU 140,000 divorces per year
Divorce or legal separation pronounced in one EU country is automatically recognised in the other member states
3' min read
3' min read
Transnational families on the rise throughout Europe and, at the same time, more and more cases of cross-border divorces. Eurostat also certifies this, pointing out that since 1964, the marriage rate in the European Union has fallen from 8% per 1,000 people to 3.2 in 2020 (with Slovenia, Italy and Portugal having the lowest rate), while the divorce rate has more than doubled, falling only in the last decade.
In any case, there are more than 140,000 international couples who divorce each year in the EU area and, to remove obstacles and limit costs in these situations that can make free movement more difficult, the European Union has intervened with Regulation No. 1259/2010 on the implementation of enhanced cooperation in the area of the law applicable to divorce and legal separation ('Rome III'), in force since 21 June 2012. A key instrument for transnational divorces, together with Regulation No. 2019/1111 (Brussels IIa) and before that Regulation No. 2201/2003 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in matrimonial matters and in matters of parental responsibility.
The Common Frame
.States have very different rules for legal separation and divorce, and with Regulation No 1259/2010 a common framework at least for private international law provisions was given to allow international couples to designate in advance the law to be applied to divorce and legal separation. With these rules, in fact, in cases where two spouses have different nationalities or live in two different countries, it will be possible to identify the law governing transnational divorce.
The regulation is applicable to 17 states, i.e. the member states that have decided to participate in enhanced cooperation in this area. They are Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Slovenia.
The main connecting factor is that of the will: the spouses may choose the law to be applied, including the law of the EU States not bound by the regulation and non-EU States. In practice, the spouses will be able to designate the law of the State of residence at the time of the conclusion of the agreement; the law of the last residence provided that at least one of them still resides there; the law of the State of nationality of one of the spouses at the time of the conclusion of the agreement; or the law of the forum. To ensure compliance with the informed choice, the agreement must be in writing and signed by both parties, although states have the green light to identify additional formal requirements.
