No EU plan foreseen to fast-track adoptions of Haiti children

Jan 25, 2010, 14:06 GMT

Brussels - The European Union would not launch a comprehensive plan to facilitate adoptions of child victims of the earthquake in Haiti, the European Commission said on Monday.

The idea was floated last week at an informal meeting of EU justice ministers in Spain, where Commissioner for Justice, Jacques Barrot, said the EU would look for a 'European framework' on the issue, in cooperation with UNICEF, the United Nations' fund for children.

But on Monday in Brussels, his spokesman Michele Cercone said 'a European framework for adoptions at this stage seems premature, and anyway the commission does not have any competence' to act.

Cercone added that the EU executive has 'no opposition to any speeding up of already existing adoption procedures,' a measure which the governments of the Netherlands and Italy have already announced.

However, he said the commission 'asks member states to be really prudent' on enacting their plans.

On Friday, UN officials warned that a 'large number' of children may have been taken out of Haiti without following proper legal steps since the country was hit by the massive earthquake January 12, resulting in the collapse of the judiciary and other government functions.

Some of the children had legal documents showing they were authorized to leave the country to meet adopted families elsewhere, but some did not, and officials issued a call to respect international adoption protocols despite the chaos in the country.