Negotiating the future: understanding the absence of a UK-EU agreement on civil justice cooperation in family matters
Since 1 January 2021, the UK and the EU have no formal agreement on civil justice cooperation on family law matters. This working paper examines how the dynamics of the negotiations on the future relationship shaped the outcome in family law matters.
It investigates how civil justice cooperation on family matters featured in the negotiations on the future relationship by tracing the policy positions, issue prioritisation and negotiation strategies of each party in this area.
It finds that the UK and the EU’s overarching negotiating positions on the future relationship, combined with their prioritisation of economic concerns in cooperation in civil justice more specifically and the UK’s failure to fully grasp the implications of its weaker bargaining position, account for the absence of any agreement on family law matters.
A summary of the paper can be found on the UK in a Changing Europe commentary page here.
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