EU justice ministers on 5 June 2026 failed to bridge deep divisions on the proposed parenthood regulation, with a majority of member states backing universal recognition of parenthood for all children while a vocal minority pushed back on grounds of national competence, constitutional identity, and opposition to surrogacy and same-sex parents.
At the Justice and Home Affairs Council in Luxembourg, Cyprus, holding the rotating presidency, framed the file as highly sensitive after three and a half years of negotiations. The Netherlands, Luxembourg, Spain, Belgium, Greece, Slovenia, and Malta supported full recognition of parenthood regardless of family composition or birth method, including for same-sex couples and children born through surrogacy. Estonia, Bulgaria, Poland, Croatia, and Slovakia opposed, citing national competence, constitutional identity, or fundamental-rights concerns. Slovakia and Italy explicitly rejected inclusion of surrogacy and same-sex parents. France backed recognition for all children but opposed automatic recognition of surrogacy from third countries. Germany and Belgium urged inclusion of surrogacy with safeguards. Finland, Austria, Lithuania, and others sought derogations or public-policy exemptions for surrogacy.
Scope and mechanism also divided delegations. Portugal and Bulgaria proposed a narrower or phased approach, while Malta and Luxembourg rejected any restrictions. Germany and Poland stressed the need to clarify applicable law and jurisdiction; Finland wanted a broad definition of court; Italy and Romania questioned the proposed European parenthood certificate. On the way forward, most delegations backed further technical work. Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Austria, Portugal, Greece, and Poland considered enhanced cooperation as a fallback, while Bulgaria and Slovakia suggested splitting the file into separate instruments.
Justice programme and other files
The Council reached a partial general approach on the €800 million Justice programme for 2028–2034. Commissioner Michael McGrath welcomed progress but reserved the Commission's position on the added committee procedure. On other files, Cyprus noted agreement on the protection of adults regulation and progress on sexual exploitation of children, migrant smuggling, and firearms trafficking. The Commission previewed upcoming initiatives on Eurojust, the European Investigation Order, and data protection.
Stakeholder impact
The regulation would directly affect children in cross-border situations, same-sex families, and surrogacy-born children, whose legal parenthood often goes unrecognised when families move between member states. National family-law systems and civil registries would face harmonisation requirements, while judicial authorities would need to apply new recognition rules. A broad scope including surrogacy could lower legal certainty for member states with restrictive surrogacy laws, while a narrow scope would leave many children unprotected.