Nauwere samenwerking Denemarken-EU op justitieel gebied (en)

Today two agreements between the European Community and the Kingdom of Denmark enter into force extending to Denmark the provisions of two existing regulations, namely, regulation 44/2001 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters and regulation 1348/2000 on the service of judicial and extrajudicial documents in civil or commercial matters.

Vice-President Franco Frattini i, European Commissioner responsible for Justice, Freedom and Security, stated: " There will now be a clear legal framework for the free movement and effective enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters between Denmark and the other Member States of the European Community. This development will facilitate the daily life of citizens and businesses in their personal and economic relations with Denmark".

At present, Denmark does not participate in Title IV of the Treaty and as a consequence, Community instruments adopted in the field of judicial cooperation in civil matters are not binding upon or applicable in Denmark.

Denmark has expressed on several occasions an interest in participating in the regime of regulation 44/2001. Denmark is a party to the Brussels Convention of 1968, the predecessor to the regulation, and the application of regulation 44/2001 in Denmark will restore the uniformity that existed before its entry into force. In view of this, the Council considered it to be in the Community's interest to authorise the Commission to exceptionally negotiate an international agreement to extend the provisions of regulation 44/2001 to Denmark. A similar agreement was necessary for regulation 1348/2000 which is closely linked to regulation 44/2001.

The two agreements were negotiated by the European Commission on behalf of the Community and were initialled in January 2005. The EU Council of Ministers approved their conclusion on 27 April 2006 with the assent of the European Parliament. Denmark ratified the agreements on 18 January 2007, thereby enabling their entry into force on 1 July 2007.

To find out more about Vice President Frattini's work please visit his website: http://www.ec.europa.eu/commission_barroso/frattini/index_en.htm