And Then There Were … Seventeen!

Estonia has recently joined the Rome III Regulation (EU) No. 1259/2010 on enhanced cooperation in the area of the law applicable to divorce and legal separation, increasing the number of participating Member States to seventeen. The Decision of the Commission of 10 August 2016 has been published in (2016) OJ L 216/13. Before, Lithuania and Greece had already joined the original fourteen participating Member States. Contrary to some dire forecasts made at the time when the Rome III Regulation was adopted, this instrument has turned out to be rather successful, being now in force in a clear majority of Member States. Rome III shall apply to Estonia from 11 February 2018. Article 3 of the said Council’s decision contains specific transitional provisions, in particular with regard to choice-of-law agreements.