(13 January, 2016) Yesterday morning, Rome’s headquarters of the Italian Notary hosted the inauguration of the Italian presidency and the new Board of Directors for the Council of Notaries of the European Union (CNUE). Notary Paolo Pasqualis, appointed by the General Assembly of CNUE on 20 November in Brussels, officially became President of the association representing among European institutions the 40.000 notaries of 22 EU member states. The Board of Directors consists of six members, this year from Estonia, Latvia, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain and Hungary. The Presidency lasts for a year and, under Italian leadership, will see the strengthening of cooperation between the EU notariats set as a priority. The goal is to promote the implementation of the Agenda 2020, a program to foster and support the simplification of procedures, the free movement of citizens and their rights, the economy and the competitiveness of the economy. In particular the Italian Presidency of the CNUE will focus on issues such as: the continuation of the transnational education program, for 2016 centered around succession law and ensuring a uniform interpretation of the EU Regulation 650 / 2012, which came into force in August 2015, and the spread of the European Certificate of Succession; the development and dissemination of digital platforms for European notaries – such as EuFides, aimed at fostering cooperation between notaries from different countries, enabling the secure access and exchange of data and documents; Bartolus, to check cross-border digital signatures; and Arert, for the interconnection of last will and testament registers. “European law is a success: consumer protection, competition law, procurement rules, inheritance etc. are all guarantees. There’s the Court of Justice in Luxembourg with its binding decisions for 28 sovereign states and more than 500 million citizens. In this framework – explains Pasqualis – even Notaries, thanks to their history and culture, deserve a prominent role in the protection of rights. In this direction, therefore, the CNUE will continue to work with European institutions to find effective solutions for professionals and citizens, who benefit from a greater legal certainty in cross-border issues”. President Pasqualis succeeds French notary Jean Tarrade who was president of CNUE in 2015. Paolo Pasqualis is a Councilor in the National Council of Notaries with responsibility for international affairs since 2010. (Red)
