The Symposium presents the edited volume The Family in EU Law (eds Marja-Liisa Öberg and Alina Tryfonidou, forthcoming with Cambridge University Press) which provides a first-ever comprehensive account of the concept and the role of the family in EU law.

The symposium explores the concept and the role of the family in EU law from four different angles: (1) the philosophical and theoretical foundations of the family in the law in general, including the definition of the family under EU law; (2) an overview of the rights conferred upon the family by Union law and an assessment of whether these cater for the needs of all families; (3) approach to family diversity in EU law in comparison with the European Convention on Human Rights; and (4) how EU law deals with some situations of crisis that are faced by families in the EU. 

Programme

Thursday, 25 April

12.30-13.00                          Registration

13.00-13.15                          Welcome address

Marja-Liisa Öberg (Lund University) and Alina Tryfonidou (University of Cyprus)

13.15-13.45                          Keynote address ‘Is there a European Family Law?’

Jens M. Scherpe (University of Aalborg)

13.45-15.15                          PANEL 1: THE FAMILY IN EU LAW: CONCEPT AND CONTEXT

Chair: Eva Ryrstedt (Lund University)

 ‘What is a ‘family’ in EU law: Do EU policies sufficiently address family diversity and its consequences?’

Alina Tryfonidou (University of Cyprus)

‘What counts as a family? The nature and value of family membership’

David Archard (Queen’s University Belfast)

’One big happy ’European family’? An external perspective’

Marja-Liisa Öberg (Lund University)

15.15-15.45                          Coffee

15.45-17.15                          PANEL 2: THE EU FAMILY: DIVERSITY AND CRISES

Chair: Xavier Groussot (Lund University)

‘All Paths Lead to Equality? Same-sex couples and rainbow families under European law’
Geoffrey Willems (Université catholique de Louvain)

‘The abused and neglected child in the EU family: Risk, borders and public law child protection’

Ruth Lamont (University of Manchester)

‘The EU family: Surviving ideological familism in times of illiberalism’ 

Nausica Palazzo (NOVA Law School, Lisbon)

Friday, 26 April

09.00-10.30                          PANEL 3: THE EU FAMILY AND RIGHTS

Chair: Titti Mattsson (Lund University)

‘The Fundament of the Fundaments? Family Rights and the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights’

Alezini Loxa (Lund University)

‘The Status of Family Member as a Pre-Condition of the Free Movement in the EU’

Michael Bogdan (Lund University)

‘Family members and the Citizens' Rights Directive: Broadening the scope of the principle of effective judicial protection’
Albertina Albors-Llorens (University of Cambridge)

10.30-11.00                          Coffee

11.00-12.00                          PANEL DISCUSSION: WHAT ROLE FOR THE FAMILY IN EU LAW?

Moderators: Jens M. Scherpe (University of Aalborg) and Vladislava Stoyanova (Lund University)

12.00-12.15                          Closing remarks

                                             Marja-Liisa Öberg and Alina Tryfonidou

Please register by email to marja-liisa [dot] oberg [at] jur [dot] lu [dot] se (marja-liisa[dot]oberg[at]jur[dot]lu[dot]se)

The Symposium is organised with the kind support of the Centre for European Studies at Lund University.