I am Marcelo's father. Marcelo was just six months old when his mother, in the middle of a divorce process, decided to fly away to her home country, Kenya, taking Marcelo with her. We were living in The Netherlands then, and even if I warned the police about that risk, no one at the airport asked her for authorization, even if the baby is European and the mother was not.

Countries like Bulgaria and Romania require the authorisation of both parents in order to travel abroad with a minor. But others like Spain and The Netherlands do not.

I cannot do anything to recover my son now, but maybe with this petition we could do something to avoid this to happen to other fathers and mothers in Europe.

Please, sign the petition and ask the European Commission to make a written authorisation from both parents compulsory when taking a minor outside the EU.

Versión en español

Dutch version