ENN seminar and meeting – Brussels, 25-26 April 2024

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On 25 April, particularly fruitful exchanges took place at the international seminar organised by the CNUE and the Conseil International du Notariat Belge. The theme of the event was “The cross-border protection of vulnerable adults”, and was part of the European Notarial Network’s annual programme of activities, supported by the European Commission.

In his introduction, Anthony Leleu, President of the Belgian National Chamber, outlined the social and legal issues raised by this topic. Belgian notary Lisbeth Michielsens then gave a comprehensive overview of the tools available to notaries to help them process their cross-border cases: the European Directory of Notaries, information websites, the e-Justice Portal and, of course, the ENN platform (www.enn-rne.eu), etc.

Lenka Vysoka, Policy Officer at the European Commission, spoke about the legislative package published by the European Commission in May 2023. It includes a proposal for a Council Decision requiring all Member States to be party to the Hague Convention of 13 January 2000 on the Protection of Adults and a proposal for a Regulation aimed at facilitating both the determination of the competent courts in the Member States and of the applicable law, as well as the recognition and enforcement of protection measures taken in another Member State.

Her speech was followed by a panel discussion, the aim of which was to provide an overview of the national situations regarding judicial and extra-judicial protection measures in Belgium, France and the Netherlands. These exchanges were a prelude to work carried out in small groups of participants, which enabled a better understanding of the national frameworks of the various Member States.

The following day, the ENN’s national interlocutors held their first annual meeting. On the agenda were the establishment of a framework for cooperation with the European Judicial Network, access for Serbian notaries to the ENN’s online platform, and in-depth discussions on the tools and functionalities made available on the platform.