The Presidium of the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE) has expressed concern over the recent ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) on the recognition of same-sex unions between EU member states, Vatican News reports. The bishops point out that the European Union does not have a mandate to influence the legislation of individual countries in the area of family law, and that the ruling itself may fuel anti-European sentiment.
The bishops discussed the recent CJEU ruling on 3 December. Drawing on the Church’s anthropological view based on natural law, which defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman, they note with concern the ruling’s impact on matters lying at the core of member state competences.
This is a competence of the states, not of the Union
The EU ruling states that a member state is obliged to recognize a union contracted in accordance with the law of another member state between two persons of the same sex who are EU citizens and who have exercised their freedom of movement and residence.
As the bishops emphasize, in the legal systems of various EU member states, marriage is defined as a union between a man and a woman, in some cases even at the constitutional level. “The provisions concerning marriage fall within the competence of the member states, and EU law cannot diminish that competence”, the COMECE statement stresses. “Member states are therefore free to decide whether to allow same-sex marriages under their national law or not”, they conclude.
Part of identity
They underline that the ruling introduces a provision which, instead of protecting sensitive elements of national legal systems, diminishes their significance. This is the case with the present judgment in relation to Article 9 of the EU Charter.
As they write, in some member states the definition of marriage forms part of their national identity. The EU Court’s ruling, however, will affect national family law systems and may increase pressure to change them.
The Union has no mandate to harmonize family law
“It also requires the introduction of recognition procedures, and even, if necessary, obliges the non application of relevant national provisions. This ruling in practice creates a convergence of effects in the area of marital law, despite the fact that the Union has no mandate to harmonize family law”, COMECE writes.
They note that the new provision undermines the principle of legal certainty, as member states will increasingly be unable to clearly predict which parts of their family law will remain within their autonomous sphere. Furthermore, COMECE expresses concern that the ruling may lead to negative developments in other sensitive areas of cross-border family law, for example by paving the way for similar legal approaches regarding surrogacy. “Finally, bearing in mind the difficult context in which the European Union currently finds itself – also regarding its perception in various countries – it is not surprising that such rulings give rise to anti European sentiment in member states and can easily be instrumentalized for this purpose”, the bishops conclude.