Divisional applications under the European Patent Convention

During the grant procedure before the European Patent Office (EPO), divisional applications can be filed under Article 76 EPC out of pending earlier European patent applications. A divisional application, sometimes called European divisional application, is a new patent application which is separate and independent from the earlier application, unless specific provisions in the European Patent Convention (EPC) require something different.

Source: Wikipedia — Divisional applications under the European Patent Convention (CC BY-SA 4.0)