§ Mr. DonaldsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Romanian Government regarding their embargo on inter-country adoption which prohibits United Kingdom citizens from adopting Romanian children. [25152]
§ Peter HainWe have expressed our support for the one-year moratorium on international adoptions from Romania announced on 13 July following a recommendation from the European Parliament. There were allegations that the existing adoption system had become very corrupt, and the Romanians needed time to rewrite the law on adoption and get the necessary framework in place to support it. They are being helped in this by the UK Department for International Development, as well as UNICEF, the EU and USAID.