José Manuel García Collantes at the Head of the 40 000 Notaries of Europe

Mr José Manuel García Collantes, a Spanish notary in Madrid, today became President of the 40,000 notaries in the European Union. He takes over from Mr Paolo Pasqualis, an Italian notary, at the helm of the Council of the Notariats of the European Union (CNUE), the official body representing the notarial profession vis-à-vis the European institutions.

Mr García Collantes will serve throughout 2017 and intends to guide the CNUE’s work on the following issues: the digitalisation of company law, the fight against money laundering, implementation of the two new European regulations on matrimonial property regimes and registered partnerships, the development and promotion of notarial mediation in Europe and digital collaboration platforms between notaries, such as the European Notarial Network and EUFides.

The high point of the coming months will be the organisation of the fourth edition of the Notaries of Europe congress, which will be held in Santiago de Compostela from 5 to 7 October 2017. The theme of the congress will be ‘EU Law at the Service of Citizens”, the aim being to analyse European civil and commercial law and make legislative proposals to the European institutions. More specifically, two topics will be covered, one being consumer law and the notariat’s role in developing digital materials, the other being company law and transferring company headquarters in the European Union.

Mr García Collantes will bring his extensive European and international experience. He has occupied various positions at European level, such as that of President of the Commission for European Affairs of the International Union of Notaries (www.uinl.org). He was also President of the International Congress of Notaries in 2007. He is currently an adviser to the International Union of Notaries. In Spain, he was President of the General Council of the Notariat from 2013 to 2016 as well as being President of the Chamber of Notaries of Madrid. Mr García Collantes holds a Doctorate in Law and has been an Assistant Professor in Business Law at the Complutense University of Madrid. In 2016, the Spanish government awarded him the Orden de San Raimundo de Peñafort Cross of Merit recognising his valuable achievements in the field of Law.

Mr José Manuel García Collantes declares: “In 2017, the notariats of the European Union will have to face a hugely  significant challenge, brought about by the EU agenda: the consolidation of the European Digital Single Market. I am convinced that the European notaries have a great deal to contribute to the legal certainty of transactions on this market and, more specifically, to the legal protection of consumers within a digital setting”.

More information and useful resources (CV, photos, etc.) on the CNUE presidency’s webpage.

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The CNUE in brief:

The Council of the Notariats of the European Union (CNUE) is an official body representing the notarial profession in dealings with European institutions. Speaking for the profession, it expresses the joint decisions of its members to the institutions of the European Union. The CNUE includes 22 notarial organisations in the European Union. The European notariats are represented in the CNUE by the presidents of the national notariats. The CNUE operates under the authority of a President, the CNUE’s spokesperson, who has tenure for one year.