 Rhaid i'n meddwl i'r amser i gyd ar hyn o'r gyfyrdol yn gyfyrdol yn y cyd-ynghoru'r gyfyrdol. Felly, yn fawr i'n mynd eu cyfyrdol o'r gyfyrdol o'r cyfyrdol yn Lleon i'r ymwneud, ac mae'n gydag i'n meddwl i'ch gyrdol o'i gynhyrchu o'r gyfyrdol, o'r gyfyrdol yn gynhyrchol, o'r cyfrifodol yn ysgolio'r gyfyrdol. ac ychwanegol yn gwneud y ffordd o'r amser y bydd y mor hwn o bobl hwn. Mae'r bwysig iawn iddynt yn fawr i'r ffath o'r ffordd, ac mae'n ddadfyniaeth yn gweithio ar y ffordd y bwysig iawn. Felly, rwy'n gweithio i'r rôl o'r parlymydd a'r llwyddon oherwydd byddol i'r ffordd o rhan o'r cyfleu llwyddon. Mae hwn ymlaen i'r parlymydd yn gweithio i'r parlymydd o'r bwysig iawn i'r plwyno. favorites, so esentily, we deal with the consequences of family breakdown in cross border relationships. In our more mobile world, there are many more cross border relationships and families. my office deals with adults, but our focus is on children, their rights, the need to protect them, sometimes from the actions of one or indeed both parents. We try to help find solutions when things go wrong, but we can only deal with people yn ei wneud i gael i gael ethael, ac yn mynd i gael'r gwahod o'r fforiad yma, ych yn ddweud am eu gweithio i'w gwahod o'i gael, ond mae'r gwaith yn ddod. Fyddwn ni'n gweithio i'n credu, ac mae'n ddweud o'r gweithio i gael'r gweithio. Felly, mae'n gweithio i gael arddangos y gael, a'n ddweud â'r gweithio i gael ac yn ddweud o'ch cyfleoedd o'r llwyaf yn ddwy'r gweithio. Sometimes we do actually find a solution to problems involving children and when this happens it's hugely rewarding for the parties involved. Our focus is on making sure that the best interests of the child are to the fore. And I'm glad to say that my office has very good cooperation with Interpol. It goes without saying that when we're informed of a missing child or missing children, we contact Interpol so that no time is lost in alerting the relevant authorities and I very much value the links we have with Interpol in raising the alarm where there is a suspected case of child abduction. Now as you know parental child abduction is a complex area of work with no two cases presenting the same problems or indeed requiring the same solution. The issue of parental child abduction requires a holistic proportion involving the social services, judicial and police engagement. I know that today your focus is on international child abduction so it is a much wider remit than my office where we focus on parental child abduction. That said, the European Parliament is of course concerned about missing children, child trafficking, child abuse and protecting children in a globalised world. A European Parliament study on cross-border parental child abduction points to a constant increase in child abduction legal disputes within the European Union. Now that study calls for the creation of a European public database because some countries already collect data on the reasons behind child abduction and the Parliament study calls on the EU to build a specific database to better acknowledge the number of high conflict separations with a cross-border element. According to an EU Commission study, Belgium and Slovakia are the highest proportion of outgoing return applications for international parental abductions and that's from 2011. Now these are cases where a parent has applied to have their abducted child returned from another jurisdiction. In other research quoted in the study produced by the Parliament, it's interesting to look at the increase in return requests received by central authorities across the European Union. So between the years 2003 and 2008, the number of return requests received by member states rose by 56%. In Germany and France, there was an increase in return requests by 44% and 81% respectively. And in many of the new EU member states, particularly those in central and eastern Europe, the increase in return requests was even greater. For example, the central authority in Poland reported a 372% increase in return requests. Bulgaria moved from having no return requests in 2003 to having 21 in 2008 and Romania had seven times more return requests in 2008 than in 2003. The United Kingdom received significantly more return requests than any other EU member state. We know from missing children Europe that over half of the cases reported to its hotline are children running away from home or care institutions another 37% of children abducted by a parent making parental child abduction a very serious issue. And the key point is how do we ensure that all actors at national and indeed transnational level can work better together to find speedier solutions when a child is abducted. High conflict separation and relationship breakdowns are a key risk factor for parental child abduction. And very often the courts are involved in one or perhaps two countries. In some countries, including member states of the European Union, mediation is part of the process. And in my experience, mediation is an important tool for resolving family disputes with a view to preventing child abduction in the first place. And prevention is better than cure. Mediation can prevent or minimize the personal distress for those involved in very difficult family circumstances. Mediation can also play a role where a child is abducted by a parent, even though it can be difficult to get the parties to the point of sitting down and reaching an agreement about their child or children. Where it works, mediation can help separated parents to maintain their parenting role after a family breakdown has occurred. The cases that come to my office are distressing and difficult. At their core are parents who disagree, often very sharply on many issues with the child caught in the middle of this adult battleground. And when a parent comes to my office, it is usually in desperation. The parent has probably been separated from their child or children and is desperate to restore contact. My job is to help find mutually acceptable solutions in the child's best interest. Mediation is beneficial from two perspectives. Firstly, it gives an alternative path and non-judicial approach to some family conflicts which otherwise get caught up in the complexity of cross-border justice. And secondly, mediation allows us to move away from the very heated emotions which follow when relationships break down. In this highly sensitive area, we need further work on definitions, including how to better define and serve the best interest of the child, because it's not always clear what this means. Here, too, countries differ on whether the voice of the child is actually heard in court proceedings, even though there is widespread agreement that the child's voice should be heard. In cross-border disputes, it's not easy always to ensure that the best interests of the child are respected. If it were, we would not have so many complex, sad and unresolved cases. In my role, I'm acutely conscious of the different legal systems in member states of the European Union, so I know that respecting national law is important. But so, too, is finding solutions where there is a cross-border issue involving two countries and their respective legal systems. We cannot harmonise different national laws rooted in different cultural traditions, but we are required to build bridges between them and to make those bridges really strong. As you will know, a review of the Brussels 2A regulation is underway, and we can expect to see the Commission's proposals shortly. My hope is that the review will address the inherent shortcomings in both interpretation and implementation of the regulation. These include conflicts in court jurisdiction, a lack of definition of habitual residence of the child, frustration or complication of the return of the child due to delays in court proceedings and appeal practices, a lack of enforcement of decisions, and then there are many administrative delays at several levels from competent authorities, police and judicial systems. Improvements are needed in these areas. For example, we need a clear definition of habitual residence. We need timely and clear enforcement of judgements, and specific timeframes for compliance with judgements would be a welcome addition to the regulation. We also need to address how we can get better cooperation between central authorities. Given my role and interest in mediation, you will not be surprised to know that I want to see the role of mediation strengthened in the Brussels 2A regulation. Mediation works best when it is introduced early in the process of resolving conflicts over children, preferably before the parents' relationships over their children breaks down completely. A European Parliament study on cross-border parental child abduction recommends several things, including strengthening the use of mediation in child abduction cases by establishing preventative and remedial mediation schemes. It recommends establishing central specialized courts in EU member states to deal with child abduction cases coupled with better cooperation between the courts from the early stages of proceedings. It also wants specific training for judges and lawyers working on cross-border cases, as is the ability to cooperate with recognized mediation centres also recommended. There are limitations to the mediation procedure. The voluntary nature of mediation implies that both parents must be willing and open to compromise, and sometimes they need to be guided or coaxed to see mediation as a solution for them. I am conscious that while mediation can help, it is not always an option for many different reasons and parties will seek a legal solution. Where this involves courts in different member states, we know that problems can arise and it is really important that at EU level we work towards strengthening judicial networks. Time is of the essence where a child is abducted and separated from a parent. Unfortunately we know that the deadlines set out for the return of a child are not always met. So there are many issues we need to deal with and I want to thank you once again for allowing me to share my work in the European Parliament with you. Anything that can assist families where relationships have broken down to work towards an agreed solution in the interests of their children is well worth pursuing. So I wish you well with your conference today and your ongoing work in this important area of child abduction. Thank you.