First Edition of Notaries of Europe Open Days Launched

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The Council of the Notariats of the European Union (CNUE) today launched its first edition of the Notaries of Europe Open Days. Some 200 free events for citizens, employees, entrepreneurs, students and the retired will be held in 16 EU countries. Information sessions, conferences and free consultations are planned, with several thousand citizens expected who will have the opportunity to find out about their family situation and property status. The full list of events is available at http://notariesofeurope-opendays.eu.

For Mr Paolo Pasqualis, the President of the CNUE, “this initiative is the fruit of a strong partnership with the European institutions. Today, more than ever, our action must be on a European scale. The Europe Day “Notary Open Days” demonstrate the European notariats’ wish to promote access to law for all. We want to meet citizens and make our services available to them, providing advice at every stage of their personal, family and business lives”.

The Notaries of Europe Open Days are being held as part of the European Day of Justice, a European Commission and Council of Europe initiative celebrated every year around 25 October

More information at: http://www.coe.int/t/dghl/cooperation/cepej/events/EDCJ/default_en.asp).

The notariats of sixteen EU countries will take part in this initiative: Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain.

For Me Paolo Pasqualis, président of the CNUE :

this initiative is the fruit of a strong partnership with the European institutions. Today, more than ever, our action must be on a European scale. The Europe Day “Notary Open Days” demonstrate the European notariats’ wish to promote access to law for all. We want to meet citizens and make our services available to them, providing advice at every stage of their personal, family and business lives.

Notaries of Europe Welcome Adoption of Regulations on Matrimonial Property Regimes and Registered Partnerships

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The Council of the Notariats of the European Union (CNUE) welcomes the adoption today by the Council of the European Union of the two proposals for regulations on matrimonial property regimes and the property consequences of registered partnerships. The texts will become applicable in the next two and a half years, as part of an enhanced cooperation procedure currently involving 18 Member States: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden. Estonia has already announced its wish to be part of the cooperation.

Me Paolo Pasqualis, president du CNUE, declares :

The Notaries of Europe welcome these two regulations, which will bring greater legal certainty for couples in Europe. Furthermore, they provide a useful complement to the regulation on international successions, which has been applicable since 17 August 2015. We now call upon the other Member States to join the enhanced cooperation procedure quickly, in the interests of all European citizens.

Notaries are among the first legal advisors of citizens and their families in Europe. They observe the increasing number of multinational couples and couples who may live in several countries during their life together. Yet these couples often face legal uncertainty and additional costs when they have to share their assets in the event of separation or death. Currently, it can be very difficult for them to know which courts have jurisdiction and which legislation applies to their situation and property. The rules are very different from one country to the next and sometimes generate conflicts, which are a source of financial cost.

With the adoption of the regulations, the conflict-of-law rules between the Member States participating in the enhanced cooperation will now be unified at European level. For example, for a Franco-German couple living in Brussels, the provisions in the regulations will enable them to choose in advance the law of their habitual residence (Belgian law) or that of their nationality (French or German law), providing them with more predictability and therefore legal certainty.

Furthermore, the CNUE recalls that, thanks to the Couples in Europe website , EU citizens can access information on the laws relating to matrimonial property regimes and partnerships of all the countries in the European Union in the language of their choice. Launched at the end of 2012 with the European Commission’s support, the website has been visited more than 550,000 times, proving that citizens have a considerable need for information on their legal situation.

Notaries of Europe Welcome Proposals for Matrimonial Property Regimes and Registered Partnerships

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The Council of the Notariats of the European Union (CNUE) welcomes the proposal for enhanced cooperation presented today by the European Commission concerning the two proposals for regulations on matrimonial property regimes and the property consequences of registered partnerships.

Me Paolo Pasqualis, president du CNUE, declares :

These proposals are going in the right direction: towards improving legal certainty for couples in Europe. Furthermore, they will provide a useful complement to the regulation on international successions, which has been applicable since 17 August 2015. We therefore hope for the quick adoption of these instruments in the context of enhanced cooperation involving as many Member States as possible.

Notaries are among the first legal advisors of citizens and their families in Europe. They observe the increasing number of multinational couples and couples who may live in several countries during their life together. Yet these couples often face legal uncertainty and additional costs when they have to share their assets in the event of separation or death. Currently, it can be very difficult for them to know which courts have jurisdiction and which legislation applies to their situation and property. The rules are very different from one country to the next and sometimes generate conflicts, which are a source of financial cost.

This is why the CNUE supports the proposals by the Commission, whose aim is to unify the conflict-of-law rules at European level. For example, for a Franco-German couple living in Brussels, the provisions in the regulations will enable them to choose in advance the law of their habitual residence (Belgian law) or that of their nationality (French or German law), providing them with more predictability and therefore legal certainty.

Furthermore, the CNUE recalls that, thanks to the Couples in Europe website , EU citizens can access information on the laws relating to matrimonial property regimes and partnerships of all the countries in the European Union in the language of their choice. Launched at the end of 2012 with the European Commission’s support, the website has been visited more than 500,000 times, proving that citizens have a considerable need for information on their legal situation.

Paolo Pasqualis new president of notaries of Europe

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From today, Mr Paolo Pasqualis, an Italian notary in Portogruaro, is President of the 40,000 notaries of the European Union. He takes over from Mr Jean Tarrade, a French notary, at the helm of the Council of the Notariats of the European Union (CNUE), the official body representing the notarial profession vis-à-vis the European institutions.

Building on the 2020 Plan of the Notaries of Europe, Mr Pasqualis intends to focus the CNUE’s actions in 2016 on the practical application of the European regulation on international successions, which became applicable on 17 August 2015. Following the success of its first training programme, “Europe for Notaries – Notaries for Europe”, the CNUE will begin a new programme in 2016 involving the organisation of 11 seminars in 11 Member States, the first of which will be held in Vienna on 29 January 2016. The CNUE will also support the work of the European Network of Registers of Wills Association (ENRWA) to interconnect registers of wills in Europe, in addition to registers of European Certificates of Succession.

Facilitating collaboration between European notaries will be another priority of Paolo Pasqualis’s presidency, in particular through the EUFides electronic platform, which enables two notaries from different countries to work together on a cross-border file. The European Notarial Network (ENN) will also continue to develop with the implementation in 2016 of a tool for online information exchange for European notaries.

Me Paolo Pasqualis declared :

Both on a practical and legal level, the CNUE and the European institutions are moving in the right direction. This means finding effective solutions for practitioners, who must guarantee they are applied properly in practice, and for citizens, who benefit from ever-stronger legal certainty in cross-border situations. We will maintain this focus in 2016.

> More information, CV and photos of Paolo Pasqualis