This is typical of Brussels. The Treaty is all that matters and in
order to get all power into their hands they'll stitch up the Irish
vote by postponing this idea until sufficient 'YES' votes are in the
bag. Totally unprincipled.
Common law which has been a great safeguard for our liberties for
centuries is steadily being whittled away.
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EUROPEAN VOICE, Brussels 14.5.09n UK
Ireland's Lisbon Treaty Vote puts EU inheritance law on hold
- Commission fears negative Irish reactions
- Ireland and the UK fear foreign law on inheritance
by Judith Crosbie (judithcrosbie@economist.com)
Plans for EU-wide recogntion of inheritance claims have fallen victim
to Ireland's projected second referendum on the Lisbon Treaty. The
European Commission has postponed a controversial plan to have wills
and inheritance claims recognised across member states until after
the Irish referendum expected in the autumn
Both Commission President José Manuel Barroso and Catherine Day, the
secretary-general, requested that the proposal be put on hold, for
fear of negative reactions in the Irish Republic on the sensitive
matter of family inheritance ahead of the crucial referendum.
Jacques Barrot, the European commissioner for justice, freedom and
security, was to publish the proposal in March, but was halted just
weeks before. "Officially we were told it was because of the
referendum, that it might have a negative influence", said one EU
official.
The delay mirrors a decision by the Commission not to propose
legislation on corporate tax ahead of the first Irish referendum in
June last year.
OPT-INS
Although Ireland, as well as the UK, would be offered an 'opt-in' to
the new legislation, even discussing it is seen as a risk, because
it could generate resentment about the EU among the electorate.
In both countries, opponents depict it as a potential threat to
their common law systems. The fear for both countries would be a
proposal that allowed foreign laws on inheritance to be applied in
their own courts. This could, for instance, see relatives 'claw back'
property or items given away by the deceased during their lfetime - a
mechanism allowed under many member states' succession laws, but
precluded by Irish and UK law.
LEGAL UNCERTAINTY
Other member states argue that legislation is needed to remove legal
uncertainty in the increasingly common cases of EU citizens living in
one member state with certain inheritance rules, but with property in
another member state subject to dfferent rules. There is already
anger among some countries that an opt-in is permitted to Ireland and
the UK on police and judicial co-operation, which allows them to
negotiate on a proposal and choose not to adopt it a the end. "In
patrticular the French are angry at the way this is operating," an
official said.
One of the factors in the call by Baroso and Day to defer discussion
on the proposal is thought to be a desire to allay UK and Irish
fears about the proposal, encouraging them to opt in from the start.
BEST PROPOSAL POSSIBLE
The formal Commission position, as expressed by a spokesman, is that
"this is a very sensitve issue and we want to make sure we have the
best proposal possible." He denied that the Irish referendum or the
opt-in have anything to do with the delay in the proposal's
publication, adding: "The Commission services are still at work on it
and I don't know when they will be able to have a final text."
A conference on the issue organised by the Czech presidency of the EU
on 20-21 April was hamstrung because there was no legislation to
discuss. The postponement has also created headaches for Sweden, whch
will have to set aside time for discussions on the proposal among
member states when it takes over the EU's rotating presidency on 1 July
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