Formal notice by EU puts Poland amongst the top destinations for child abducting parents

31st January 2023

The European Commission launched an infringement procedure this week against Poland for failure to protect children in cross-border family proceedings. THE FORMAL NOTICE COMES AS NO SURPRISE TO SCOTTISH PARENTS, AND OTHERS THROUGHOUT THE uk, WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED THE abduction OF THEIR CHILDREN TO pOLAND IN RECENT YEARS.

scar HAS received reports from several parents who believe their children have suffered as a result of this failure. one parent told us…

the eu commission considers that…

“there is a systematic and persistent failure of polish authorities to speedily and effectively enforce judgements ordering the return of abducte children to other EU Member states.”

A Scottish parent of an abducted child to Poland in 2019 shared their concern following the news from the European Commission…

WITH member COUNTRIES of the Hague CONVENTION failing to fulfil their obligation to protect abducted children, there is an urgent need for the Scottish Government to reform the out of date abduction legislation in Scotland.

there are many countries who are not signatories of The Hague convention and the number of states unwilling to cooperate with uk civil authorities regarding parental child abduction appears to be growing. It would seem sensible therefore that the best way to protect vulnerable children from these uncooperative destinations is to prevent their unlawful removal in the first place.

Read the full letter of formal notice by the EU commission here.