Don't Add Insult to Injury

4.54.39pm UTC (GMT +0000) Thu 1st Feb 2007

The European Parliament today adopted a Lib Dem report on cross border Limitation Periods which looks at ways of aligning limitation periods in cross-border accidents within the EU.

Lib Dem MEP for the South East , Sharon Bowles said "As our citizens become more and more mobile across the European Union, lawyers have seen more and more victims of cross borders accidents, many of whom suffer not only from their injuries but also from the vagaries and differences in our systems of national procedural law. This adds insult to injury.

"To them, 'limitation periods' is one glaring area where the European legislator, who has encouraged these citizens to take advantage of free movement, ought to step in. We have taken down the frontiers but we have not forged a justice system equal to the task of delivering real cross border access to justice.

"For example, in France the limitation period is 10 years compared with the UK where it is just 2 years. So if French and British drivers are involved in a crash in Spain whilst on holiday the limitation period that might come into play could be any one of three.

"There are indeed many obstacles to cross border access to justice. However, by aligning limitation periods in cross border accidents, we would take away one small but potentially fatal stumbling block.

Sharon Bowles went on to say: "This is what Europe should really be about; making sure that our citizens are practically assisted when things go wrong in their daily lives, as they exercise their freedom of movement as workers, students, tourists or indeed residents in another Member State."

Legal practitioners, insurers and many others have been lobbying across Europe in support of this report.

ENDS