The European Parliament adopted by 642 votes to 4, with 17 abstentions, a legislative resolution on the proposal for a Council decision authorising certain Member States to accept, in the interest of the European Union, the accession of Kazakhstan to the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.
In line with the recommendation made by Committee on Legal Affairs, Parliament approved, without amendment, the authorisation for certain Member States to accept, in the interest of the European Union, the accession of Kazakhstan to the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.
In brief, the EU now has exclusive external competence in this field as confirmed by the Court of Justice in Opinion 1/13 of 14 October 2014. Following the accession of Kazakhstan to the Convention, a Council decision is therefore necessary to authorise the Member States (except Denmark, which is excluded from the Union's civil justice policy, and the Netherlands, which have already accepted the accession of Kazakhstan) to accept that accession.