The Polish Presidency’s Programme on Judicial Cooperation in Civil Matters
On 1 January 2025, Poland assumed the presidency of the Council of the European Union, marking the start of a new trio of presidencies that also involves Denmark and Cyprus.
The Polish presidency’s programme for the semester ending on 30 June deals with a broad range of topics, including judicial cooperation in civil matters.
In this area, the Polish presidency will “aim at strengthening the legal protection of European Union citizens in cross-border situations”. It plan to do so by making “substantial progress on the draft Regulation on jurisdiction, applicable law, recognition and enforcement of measures and cooperation in matters relating to the protection of adults“, while continuing “work on the draft Council Regulation on jurisdiction, applicable law, recognition of decisions and acceptance of authentic instruments in matters of parenthood and on the creation of a European Certificate of Parenthood”.
To remove “barriers to the competitiveness of the EU economy, which at the same time hinder citizens from exercising fundamental freedoms, such as the free movement of capital and freedom of establishment, and put their legally protected interests at risk”, the Polish presidency intends to “further focus on the draft Directive harmonizing
certain aspects of insolvency law“. The presidency will also be “ready to continue work on a draft Directive on adapting non-contractual civil liability rules to artificial intelligence“, and support “cooperation of Member States in the digitalisation of justice, particularly in key areas arising from the European e-Justice Strategy 2024-2028”.
The programme includes a more general statement on the importance of “political guidance for future European
Union action in the field of justice”, and indicates that the Polish Presidency aims to “take an active role in this discussion, taking into account the positions of all stakeholders”. No indications are provided in the text as to the directions that future developments may take, or as regards any possible area of intervention.