The New Brussels I Regulation

The most important amendments to the Brussels I Regulation adopted on 12 December 2012 are presented and discussed. The amendments concern: 1) arbitration, 2) external situations, 3) choice-of-court agreements, and 4) abolition of exequatur. Compared to the Commission's ambitions, only modest, but probably useful compromises were achieved in respect of arbitration and external situations. For exclusive choice-of-court agreements, an efficient and sophisticated provision based on the Commission's ideas was adopted, and the Commission's primary goal, to abolish exequatur, was also successfully achieved.