Let's suppose you are a Danish girl who wants to marry a Bulgarian man, and you both live in Paris.

To bind your lives together in front of the French authorities, you need to obtain a certified French translation of a document, obtained from your native country, attesting to your marital status.

This is both a cumbersome and costly procedure. But once the new EU regulation detailed below comes into force, the presentation of a wide range of public documents will be easier in other European countries.

The European Commission came forward with its original initiative on this issue in 2013, which was approved by the EP this summer. Finally, the Committee of Permanent Representatives (Coreper) approved on October 21, 2015, a compromise package agreed with the European Parliament on a regulation that will facilitate the free movement of citizens by simplifying the requirements for presenting certain public documents in the EU.

The regulation aims at simplifying the procedures for the cross-border presentation of public documents related to civil status matters, such as births, deaths, marriages and registered partnerships, and public documents certifying the absence of a criminal record. The regulation also covers public documents which EU citizens may be required to present when they wish to vote or stand as candidates in municipal or European elections.

Citizens' Europe

The regulation will avoid the need for legalization or other formalities, and in so doing contribute directly to the creation of a citizens' Europe.

"I am very pleased that Coreper has today confirmed the agreement reached by the Luxembourg Presidency with the European Parliament. I am convinced of the added value of this instrument and its benefits to everyone. It will have a particularly important impact on those citizens who are affected by cross-border issues and will significantly improve their daily lives," said Félix Braz, the minister for justice of Luxembourg and president of the Council of the European Union.

Next steps

After endorsement of the compromise package by the Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament on November 12, 2015, the legal texts will come back to the Council in December 2015 for a political agreement, followed by the usual legal-linguistic revision before the formal adoption of the Council's position at the first reading.

Afterwards, the texts will be put up for a vote in a second reading at a plenary session of the European Parliament.