Wallis - 'Don't add insult to injury'

3.17.21pm GMT Wed 31st Jan 2007

The European Parliament is tomorrow Thursday 1st February expected to adopt Diana Wallis MEP's own-initiative report on cross-border Limitation Periods.

The report looks at ways of aligning limitation periods in cross-border accidents within the EU.

Diana Wallis, Legal Affairs Spokesperson for the Alliance of Liberal and Democrats for Europe, said in advance of the vote:

"As our citizens become more and more mobile across the European Union, lawyers have seen more and more victims of cross borders accidents, many of whom suffer not only from their injuries but also from the vagaries and differences in our systems of national procedural law. This adds insult to injury!

"To them, 'limitation periods' is one glaring area where the European legislator, who has encouraged these citizens to take advantage of free movement, ought to step in. We have taken down the frontiers but we have not forged a justice system equal to the task of delivering real cross border access to justice.

"For example, in France the limitation period is 10 years compared with the UK where it is just 2 years. So if French and British drivers are involved in a crash in Spain whilst on holiday the limitation period that might come into play could be any one of three.

"There are indeed many obstacles to cross border access to justice. However, by aligning limitation periods in cross border accidents, we would take away one small but potentially fatal stumbling block.

Diana Wallis went on to say:

"This is what Europe should really be about; making sure that our citizens are practically assisted when things go wrong in their daily lives, as they exercise their freedom of movement as workers, students, tourists or indeed residents in another Member State."

Legal practitioners, insurers and many others are lobbying across Europe in support of Diana Wallis's own-initiative report which should be adopted by the European Parliament in its plenary session tomorrow, Thursday 1st February.

UPDATE!

Diana's own-initiative report was overwhelmingly successful. In Thursday's vote it achieved the two-thirds majority needed to ask the Commission to study the issue and come forward with proposals.

Diana said after the vote:

"The ball is firmly in the Commission's court and excuses 'that this is not in our current work plan or that we do not have sufficient resources' are not adequate responses.