Adopting a child in Greece will become a swifter and less bureaucratic process, according to a draft law whose basic provisions were outlined yesterday before Parliament.

The bill aims to simplify state adoptions by substituting the need for the consensus of the child’s natural parents with a court decision regarding “parents of unknown address.” Such a move would help speed up the process for adoptions in cases where it is difficult to secure natural parents’ consensus to the adoption of their child.

“Many women agree to put up their child for adoption but do not turn up in court, which leads to the procedure stalling,” said Dimitra Papadopoulou of Athens Law School, who was involved in drafting the bill. There are also problems with adoptions of children of foreign women, as it is currently necessary to have the agreement of the father, who is often estranged, she said.

Papadopoulou stressed that the new law would not compromise children’s security. “We have tried to balance efficiency with safety in the adoptions procedure,” she said.