STEP members Richard Frimston TEP and Anneke Vrenegoor TEP attended the European Parliament (EP) on 20 April to hear expert presentations on vulnerable adults across Member States (MS) by Dr Ian Curry Summer and Pietro Franzina (see presentations below).

The occasion followed continued debate in the EP regarding the difficulty that MS are encountering to ensure the protection of their senior citizens.

Each state has its own legal system in place in order to safeguard its senior citizens, however, with an increasing number of people on the move, the applicable law and jurisdiction is becoming more complex.

MEP Joëlle Bergeron, Robert Bray, Isabelle Bardy, Francisco Ruiz (JURI secretariat) and the two experts were in attendance, and STEP member Dr Fiona Murray described the presentations as ‘clear and aligned’. MEP Bergeron broadly concurred with the findings of the experts and reiterated the need for EU legislation for an EU certificate for recognition and protection of vulnerable adults.

STEP is monitoring the issue of EU legislation across MS.

Richard Frimston TEP and Kathleen Cunningham TEP will also be presenting a session on vulnerable adults, and the global legal approaches being adopted, at the STEP Global Congress in Amsterdam on 30 June – 1 July.

• Vulnerable Adults in Europe: Dr Ian Curry-Sumner, Voorts juridische diensten (PDF 425KB)
• The Protection of Vulnerable Adults in EU Member States, Pietro Franzina and Joëlle Long, Università degli Studi di Torino (PDF 470KB)

 

Emily Deane TEP is Technical Counsel at STEP