– Madam President, I would like to thank the Commissioner for his willingness to embark upon studies and to expand the information on the EURES network, to provide greater information for individuals about family rights and the right of family reunion.

“This Regulation is a milestone in the creation of a common judicial area in family law matters and a significant step forward in the EU policy to protect and promote the rights of the child” said Franco Frattini, Vice President of the Commission and Commissioner for Justice, Freedom and Security.

110. Considers that the placing of children in care solely on the grounds that they are living in extreme poverty constitutes a violation of fundamental rights; takes the view that, where this cannot be avoided, it should, as far as possible, be regarded as temporary and should seek to achieve the return of the child to its family; believes that the conditions of such care, whether in a foster family or in an institution, and the process aiming at eventual adoption, must respect all the rights of the family and of the child in question; believes that the parents, in particular, must be given help in continuing to exercise their full r ...[+++]esponsibilities vis-à-vis the child and to maintaining the emotional links necessary for the child's development and well-being;

The free circulation of judgments is particularly important in the family law area that touches directly on peoples' lives.

7. Calls on the Commission to have a study carried out on the consequences of the formal and informal application of the family law of States with fundamentalist leanings, particularly for women belonging to the migrant communities concerned in the Member States, considers it necessary that rights derived from the family law of the Member States should prevail over those of the countries of origin, calls on the Commission and Member States therefore, on the basis of that study, to take the necessary steps to protect women, in particul ...[+++]ar, against the adverse impact of the application of the family law of the countries of origin;

Our laws refer to the traditional family, a man and a woman married in church or legally, but we have to recognize that for a number of years now several jurisdictions have recognized common law unions (1055) When the human rights commissioner appeared before the human rights committee, the hon. member for Notre-Dame-de-Grâce asked him whether adding non-discrimination of homosexuals in the Canadian Human Rights Act would automatically give gays and lesbians special privileges.