Vol. 467 No. 1
93 Mr. Shatter asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs whether the Brussels Convention of 1968 is now in force in all EU member states; if not, the states in which it is not currently in force; and when it is anticipated it will be adopted by such countries. [12794/96]
The convention on jurisdiction and the enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters done at Brussels on 27 September 1968 is not in force in all EU member states. As the Deputy may be aware, each successive enlargement of the European Communities has required the negotiation of an accession convention to the Brussels Convention. In the case of Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom an accession convention was done at Luxembourg on 9 October 1978 and entered into force on 1 November 1986. In the case of Greece an accession convention was done at Luxembourg on 24 October 1982 and entered into force on 1 April 1989. In the case of Portugal and Spain an accession convention was done at San Sabastian on 1 February 1989 and entered into force on 1 February 1991. In the case of Austria, Finland and Sweden an accession convention is currently being negotiated and those three countries are not parties to the Brussels Convention.
The Deputy may be interested to know that Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom are all parties to the 1986 convention as amended by the 1989 accession convention. However, Belgium is not a party to the 1989 convention and so the Brussels Convention is not in force between Belgium, on the one hand, and Portugal and Spain, on the other hand.
