Belgium loses integration case

The European Court of Justice has today (2 October) ruled in favour of a Spanish citizen living in Belgium who wanted his children registered both under the father and mother's name - according to Spanish custom.

Under Belgian law, children may only take the name of their father and so the Belgian state refused citing the integration of foreigners into Belgian culture as a defence.

However, the ECJ found this argument insufficient.

The father, who is Spanish is married to a ...