Members of the European Parliament on Wednesday called on the European Commission to put a higher focus and stronger legal regulation of the adoption of children from third countries.

During a debate initiated by Croatian MEP Ladislav Ilcic of the European Conservatives and Reformists Group, the European Commissioner for Equality, Helena Dalli, told the parliament that the European Union does not currently have laws regulating intercountry adoptions and the topic is regulated by the 1993 Hague Convention.

All member states of the EU are signatories of the convention that makes sure that intercountry adoptions are conducted in the best interest of children and in compliance with their fundamental rights, Commissioner Dalli said.

The discussion was put on the agenda after Ilcic raised the issue against the backdrop of the case of four Croatian couples now charged by Zambia’s authorities of attempted child trafficking. The Croatian couples tried to adopt four children from the Democratic Republic of the Congo who were granted citizenship by Croatian institutions. However, Zambian authorities suspect that the Congolese adoption papers were forged. The Democratic Republic of Congo is not a signatory to the Hague Convention on the Protection of Children, and some countries, such as the USA and France, have banned the adoption of children from that African country.

Ilcic asked the EC whether it plans to adopt guidelines for the member states in order to heighten the efficiency of monitoring intercountry adoptions to the benefit of children and their better protection.

He also asked whether the EC plans to make some diplomatic efforts to make DRC and other countries non-signatories of the 1993 Convention sign that international document.

Dalli said on Wednesday that the Hague Convention was successful, however, an estimated 50% of global adoptions are conducted outside its framework.

The debate confirmed the statement by the European Commission that this is not about ideology, that we are all on the same page: the interests of children must come first, Ilcic told N1. “The Commission has confirmed that there are irregularities. The Hague Convention is a good document, but the problem lies in the fact that there are many adoptions from countries who are not its signatories. Croatia was wrong not to have set the same criteria for children from DR Congo, which is not a signatory of the Convention.”