Dear Supporters, The Guardian writes: Adoption can be a traumatic upheaval and our care systems aren't helping: http://www.theguardian.com/social-care-network/2015/dec/01/adoption-foster-care-children-transition-traumatic A British understatement par excellence, given what we know from mothers and parents!?... Well, in Brussels a workshop took place on 01 December 2015 between the Legal Affairs and the Petitions Committee to see what can be done: Following the Committee's on Petitions fact-finding visit to London on 5-6 November, the workshop organised by the Policy Department examined citizens' concerns, petitions and legal issues related to cross-border adoptions in the EU. Experts in the field of family law made presentations on different aspects of the cross-border recognition of adoptions, which is the subject of a report of the Committee on Legal Affairs. Here's the agenda: https://polcms.secure.europarl.europa.eu/cmsdata/upload/a2766e38-52d5-473b-bc22-19d3ef45815b/Workshop_Cross-border%20adoption_Programme.pdf. One wonders why the rather senile judge was invited from the UK, especially given what we know about him from the parents whose children's lives he ruined... Two days later, the Petitions Committee met on its own and voted on questions for the EU Commission that will hopefully lead towards a debate in the EU Parliament. Here's the video of their meeting, with two fathers asking for access to their children: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/news-room/content/20151126IPR05004 It is clearly a long and tedious process that we put in motion with a total of 22 petitions from the UK. But the MEPs came and we're still waiting for their report. Our court case was adjourned for six weeks. We were supposed to pay for the barrister that the Government hired to tell us off from acting as McKenzie Friend on behalf of Melissa Laird. She was deported from HMP Holloway to the US, even though her oral hearing had been scheduled! That dreadful case is on www.melissalaird.wordpress.com We're practising being McKenzie Angels instead: https://mckenzieangels.wordpress.com/ Come fly with us and sign this latest petition: https://www.change.org/p/uk-ministry-of-justice-eu-and-un-child-protection-directives-to-be-fully-implemented-across-britain Belinda, Sabine and Deborah