The Council and European Parliament have reached a provisional agreement on rules intended to give legal certainty to adults who need support in cross-border situations, including cases involving property, medical care, relocation and representation in another EU member state.
The Council and European Parliament have reached a provisional agreement on new EU rules intended to protect adults who need support when their personal, legal, medical or financial affairs cross national borders.
In this context, vulnerable adults are people who, because of illness, disability, cognitive decline or another condition, are unable to manage all aspects of their lives without assistance. This may include people with dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, severe mental incapacity, or adults represented by a guardian, family member or court-appointed support person.
The agreement, reached late on 12 May, is intended to address practical legal difficulties that arise when such adults live, own property, receive medical care, or move between EU member states. A person may live in Belgium, own a house in Spain, receive treatment in France, or move to a care facility in another country. A family member recognised as a representative in one member state may still have to prove their authority again before a bank, hospital, notary or court elsewhere.
The regulation is intended to reduce those problems by creating clearer rules on jurisdiction, applicable law, recognition of protection measures and cooperation between national authorities. Under the provisional deal announced by the Council, the legislation will determine which court has jurisdiction in cross-border protection cases, which law applies, and how protection measures or powers of representation established in one country are recognised and enforced in another.
The proposal seeks to align EU law more closely with the Hague Protection of Adults Convention, an international instrument adopted in 2000. That convention sets rules on which country’s authorities are responsible for cross-border cases involving adults in need of protection, and which law applies. However, it currently applies only in EU member states that have ratified it, creating uneven legal coverage across the Union.
The new EU regulation is intended to close part of that gap. It will establish a common framework for the recognition and enforcement of protection measures across member states, with the aim of reducing legal uncertainty for individuals and families whose personal, care-related or financial circumstances are spread across more than one EU country.
One of the central elements of the agreement concerns jurisdiction. The regulation clarifies which country’s court should handle a case involving the protection of an adult. It builds on factors such as habitual residence, nationality and the location of property. The adult concerned may also be able to choose the court that should deal with their case, provided there is a clear connection with that court.
The agreed text also provides for the automatic recognition of protection measures taken in another member state, subject to limited exceptions. These may include cases where the adult was not given a genuine and effective opportunity to be heard. Legal documents, including notarial acts, are also expected to have the same effects in other member states as they do in the country where they were issued.
This is intended to address common cross-border problems. A guardian appointed in one country may need to access a bank account in another. A family member may need to authorise medical treatment abroad. A representative may have to manage or sell property outside the adult’s country of residence. Without a common framework, families can face conflicting rules, repeated procedures and delays in urgent situations.
The agreement also covers the placement of an adult in another member state. In this context, placement refers to decisions about where an adult should live, including admission to a care facility in a country other than their normal place of residence when the adult is unable to express their wishes. Authorities will be required to consider the interests of the adult and respect their will and preferences.
Member states will retain some flexibility. The agreed text allows a member state to oppose the placement of an adult on its territory, for example where it does not agree with the reasons given for the proposed placement.
A further element of the legislation is a new EU-wide certificate of support and representation. This certificate is intended to allow representatives of adults in need of protection to prove their powers more easily in another member state. In practice, it could help relatives, guardians or other authorised representatives deal with administrative, legal or medical matters without having to re-establish their status in every country where support is needed.
The measure reflects demographic and social changes within the EU. The Council notes that the number of people who need support in taking decisions about personal aspects of their lives is increasing. It cites EU figures indicating that the proportion of people over 65 living with some form of disability is projected to rise by 77 per cent by 2050.
At the same time, more EU citizens live across borders during different stages of their lives, own property in more than one country, retire abroad, or receive planned or emergency medical treatment outside their home state. These developments have made private international law questions more common in family, care and property cases.
The regulation does not remove the role of national authorities or national protection systems. Instead, it seeks to ensure that decisions and representation arrangements are recognised more consistently across borders. This could reduce delays for families and public authorities, particularly in cases where medical treatment, property management or relocation decisions must be handled quickly.
The agreed text must still be finalised and formally approved by the Council and Parliament. Once adopted, the regulation will enter into force 20 days after publication in the EU’s Official Journal. Its measures will then begin to apply progressively from 24 months later.
The agreement forms part of a wider EU effort to update justice cooperation for a Union in which personal, family and property circumstances increasingly cross borders. For vulnerable adults and their representatives, the practical test will be whether the new rules make it easier to have existing support arrangements recognised when decisions must be taken in another member state.
