 |
 |
Rome II Proposals - A Conflicts Law for Europe's Internal Market
March 17, 2004 12:00 AM
This week sees the presentation in the European Parliament's Legal Affairs and Internal Market Committee of the report on the Commission's contentious so-called 'Rome II proposal' dealing with the law applicable to non-contractual relations.
Ahead of Wednesday's presentation of her report the Parliament's rapporteur Diana Wallis MEP (Liberal Democrat) said, 'This is ground breaking; in contrast to previous situations where the EU has taken over a previously existing international convention on private law here we have had the chance to start from scratch and create a new proposal that could really work to enhance the functioning of the Internal Market. This should cut down fears about exposure to foreign law and help create certainty where we previously had a hotchpotch of national and community law.'
The Commission proposal had come under fire both from the e-commerce community, especially ISPs, who feared an undermining of the e-commerce directive and from publishers anxious about the effects on freedom of expression. In response to these concerns Ms Wallis said 'I believe I have put forward a proposal that is quite radically different from that of the Commission; it is very much a conflicts law for the European Internal Market. I have tried to adopt a holistic approach, recognising the importance of maintaining the functioning of the Internal Market and doing away with the need for the messy, complicated and contradictory carve-outs put forward by different arms of the Commission. I believe we have also met the very real concerns of the press head on by clearly spelling out a public policy regime at a European level.'
Note: A full copy of Ms Wallis's report along with the explanatory memorandum can be found at http://www.dianawallismep.org.uk/rome2/
What would you like to do next?
-
Subscribe for updates
Follow the party's activity on...
- Twitter:
- Liberal Democrats
- Facebook:
- Liberal Democrats
- YouTube:
- Liberal Democrats
-
Help out or donate
-
Tell us what you think