Changes from plenary report to adopted text

RemovedDRAFT EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION

AddedP10_TA(2026)0188

Removedon the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 2012/29/EU establishing minimum standards on the rights, support and protection of victims of crime, and replacing Council Framework Decision 2001/220/JHA

AddedRights, support and protection of victims of crime

Removed(COM(2023)0424 – C90303/2023 – 2023/0250(COD))

AddedCommittee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality

AddedPE756.047

AddedEuropean Parliament legislative resolution of 21 May 2026 on the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 2012/29/EU establishing minimum standards on the rights, support and protection of victims of crime, and replacing Council Framework Decision 2001/220/JHA (COM(2023)0424 – C9-0303/2023 – 2023/0250(COD))

▸5 unchanged paragraphs

(Ordinary legislative procedure: first reading)

The European Parliament,

– having regard to the Commission proposal to Parliament and the Council (COM(2023)0424),

– having regard to Article 294(2) and Article 82(2), point (c) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, pursuant to which the Commission submitted the proposal to Parliament (C90303/2023),

– having regard to Article 294(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Removed– having regard to Rule 59 of its Rules of Procedure,

Added– having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee of 14 December 2023,

Removed– having regard to the joint deliberations of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs and the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality under Rule 58 of the Rules of Procedure,

Added– having regard to the provisional agreement approved by the committees responsible under Rule 75(4) of its Rules of Procedure and the undertaking given by the Council representative by letter of 18 February 2026 to approve Parliament’s position, in accordance with Article 294(4) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Added– having regard to Rule 60 of its Rules of Procedure,

Added– having regard to the joint deliberations of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs and the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality under Rule 59 of the Rules of Procedure,

▸4 unchanged paragraphs

– having regard to the report of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs and the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality (A9-0157/2024),

1. Adopts its position at first reading hereinafter set out;

2. Calls on the Commission to refer the matter to Parliament again if it replaces, substantially amends or intends to substantially amend its proposal;

3. Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council, the Commission and the national parliaments.

Change 1

RemovedRecital 2 a (new): (2a) Member States should take the necessary measures to ensure that assistance, support and protection are provided to victims in a gender-, trauma-, disability- and child-sensitive approach. Member States should adopt an intersectional approach in the implementation of Directive 2012/29/EU to address the specific needs of victims affected by intersectional discrimination.

AddedP10_TC1-COD(2023)0250

RemovedRecital 3: (3) In order to provide victims with seamless and modern means of exercising their rights, the Member States should make it possible for victims to communicate electronically with national competent authorities. Victims should enjoy the possibility of using electronic tools to receive information about their rights and about their case, report crimes, provide information and submit evidence where feasible, and to otherwise communicate with competent authorities and with support services through reliable, easy to use and safe communication and information technologies in a confidential manner that minimises the risk of harm and supports recovery and access to justice. Victims should be able to choose the method of communication, and the Member States should provide for such communication and information technologies as an alternative to the standard methods of communication, without however replacing them completely. Those methods of communication and information technologies should include for example websites that provide information in different languages, integrated chats, or e-mails and online working tools that respond to different communication needs, such as those related to age and disability.

AddedPosition of the European Parliament adopted at first reading on 21 May 2026 with a view to the adoption of Directive (EU) 2026/… of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 2012/29/EU establishing minimum standards on the rights, support and protection of victims of crime, and replacing Council Framework Decision 2001/220/JHA

RemovedRecital 4: (4) In order to ensure comprehensive channels of communication taking into account the complexity of victims’ needs in relation to their right to access information, all victims, independently of where in the EU and in what circumstances the crime took place, should be able to access victims’ helplines by using the EU-wide 116 006 telephone number or by connecting to the dedicated websites. Under such helplines, victims should be able to receive the information about their rights, emotional support and be referred to the police or other services, including other specialised helplines – if needed. Such helplines should also refer victims to other specialised helplines, referred to in Commission Decision 2007/116/EC56 , such as the harmonised number related to child helpline “116 111”, missing children “116 000” and gender-based violence “116 116”. Member States should ensure that support provided by such helplines is without prejudice to the right of victims to receive information on their rights and on their case and to otherwise communicate with competent authorities and with other general or specialised victims’ support services through appropriate communication and information technologies. The helplines should be operated by adequately trained and qualified staff in line with existing standards of quality support to ensure a high level of professional service and work in a victim-sensitive manner.

Added(As an agreement was reached between Parliament and Council, Parliament's position corresponds to the final legislative act, Directive (EU) 2026/1472.)

RemovedRecital 5: (5) The general helpline for victims should not affect the operation of the dedicated and specialised helplines such as child helplines and helplines for victims of violence against women and domestic violence as required under Directive (EU) …/…of the European Parliament and of the Council [on combating violence against women and domestic violence]. The general victims’ helplines should function in addition to the specialised helplines. In particular in the context of cross-border crimes, victims should be able to access from another Member State the general and specialised helplines of the Member State where the crime was committed.

RemovedRecital 6: (6) Crime reporting in the Union should be improved to fight impunity, avoid repeated victimisation and ensure safer societies. Victims are sometimes not aware that they are victims of a crime while still suffering harm; that is for example often the case for victims of online, gender-based violence and environmental crimes. Member States should create safe environments for victims to report crime in a confidential manner as well as removing or reducing physical, administrative or legal barriers. This is especially relevant as victims least likely to report a crime to the police are usually those most in need of protection, such as children, migrants, people with disabilities and victims of human trafficking. It is necessary to fight public insensitivity towards crime. People who witness crime should be encouraged to report such crime. For victims who are irregular migrants in the Union, safe environment to report crime means reducing fear of return procedures being launched as a result of contacts with law enforcement authorities. The personal data of victims who are irregular migrants in the Union should not be transferred to the competent migration authorities at least until the completion of the criminal proceeding. Reporting the crime and participating in criminal proceeding under Directive 2012/29/EU do not create any rights regarding the residence status of the victim, neither have any suspensive effect when determining their residence status. In this regard, Member St…

RemovedRecital 6 a (new): (6a) All vulnerable victims, such as child victims and victims living in accommodation facilities where the victim is not permitted to leave at will, including person with disabilities or older people living in residential institutions or victims in detention, who are in a situation of intimidation, or are otherwise dependent on the offender, or require assistance by staff or authorities for all aspects of daily living, or whose mobility is limited should be able to report crime under conditions that take into account their particular situation and in line with protocols specifically set up for that purpose. The term victims in detention refers to persons living in jails and in detention centres and holding cells for suspects and accused persons, as well as in specialised detention facilities where applicants of international protection or irregular migrants are located. Accommodation facilities where the victim is not permitted to leave at will should be understood to include reception or accommodation facilities where irregular migrants and applicants and beneficiaries of international protection are located, as well as specialised accommodation for persons with disabilities, children and elderly people from where the victim is not permitted to leave at will. In this regard, special attention should be paid to persons residing in mental health and social care institutions, orphanages and retirement homes, and any other form of public or private custodial setting under contr…

RemovedRecital 6 b (new): (6b) In all Member States more effective ways should be developed for reaching victims of crimes that go unreported. The scale of the problem of unreported crime is by nature difficult to assess but is likely to be considerable, especially in relation to less public types of crime, such as domestic violence. While taking into consideration that the problem of underreporting and its causes are complex and that there is no easy solution, Member States are encouraged to exchange best practices and consider innovative measures to increase reporting of crimes, such as the presence of victim support organisations in police stations.

RemovedRecital 7: (7) Targeted and integrated support services should be available to a broad range of victims with specific needs. Such victims may include not only victims of sexual violence, victims of gender-based violence, including victims of online forms of such crimes, and victims of domestic violence, but also victims of trafficking in human beings, victims of organised crimes, victims with disabilities, victims of exploitation, victims of hate crime, victims of terrorism or victims of core international crimes. Ensuring referral and access to sexual and reproductive healthcare services, including emergency contraception, post-exposure prophylaxis treatment, testing for sexually transmitted infections and access to abortion care, should be part of the targeted and integrated support services for those victims. In response to the shortcomings identified in the evaluation, Member States should set up specific protocols that will organise the actions of specialist support services to comprehensively address the multiple needs of victims with specific needs. Such protocols should be set up in coordination and cooperation between law enforcement, prosecution authorities, judges, detention authorities, restorative justice services and victim support services. Victim support services, both governmental and non-governmental, should be granted adequate and stable human and financial resources.

RemovedRecital 7 a (new): (7a) General support services are organisations specialised in supporting victims of crime which offer support to all victims of crime. Those services may include services tailored to specific groups or offer specific types of services. In parallel, specialist support services are offered to particular groups of victims, based on the type of crime or the personal characteristics of the victim. Central cooperation and coordination of all organisations and services providing support services to victims is crucial to ensure that appropriate victim support services are available to all categories of victims on a reasonably equal basis. Therefore, general and specialist victim support services need to operate in a coordinated manner.

RemovedRecital 7 b (new): (7b) General and specialised support services shall, as a minimum, be accessible to victims on a non-discriminatory basis before, during and for an appropriate time after criminal proceedings, ensuring, in particular, sufficient proximity of services to victims, including in rural, remote and sparsely populated areas, appropriate opening hours and delivery of services through multiple channels. General and specialised support services should be coordinated in particular through referrals in accordance with victims’ specific needs, be free of charge and confidential. Psychological support should be available to victims in need of such support for as long as necessary, including by taking into account the assessment by the victim’s psychologist and the individual assessment for specific support needs pursuant to this Directive.

RemovedRecital 8: (8) To avoid serious consequences of victimisation in early age, that may negatively affect entire victims’ life, it is crucial to ensure that all child victims, including child witnesses of crime, receive the highest standard of support and protection. Most vulnerable child victims, including child victims of sexual abuse, child victims of trafficking in human beings, children without parental care and child victims who have otherwise been particularly affected by the crime due to the gravity of crime or to their particular circumstances, such as child victims who are children of persons whose death was directly caused by a criminal offence related to violence against women or domestic violence, should benefit from the targeted and integrated support and protection services that includes coordinated and cooperated approach of judicial and social services within the same premises. Such services should be provided in a dedicated space. In this regard, the so-called Barnahus model has proven to be a good practice. To ensure that the child victim is effectively protected in cases where a crime involves the holder of parental responsibility, or there is a conflict of interest between the child and the holder of parental responsibility, a provision has been added to ensure that in cases such as reporting of a crime, medical or forensic interviews, referral to support services or psychological support as well as administrative and legal support, among others, these acts should not …

RemovedRecital 8 a (new): (8a) Children witnessing crime and consequently suffering physical, mental or emotional harm should benefit from protection under Directive 2012/29/EU. That is particularly relevant in the context of gender-based violence and domestic violence. Children who witness domestic violence within the family or domestic unit should have access to special protection and support measures as they suffer direct psychological and emotional harm that impacts their development and they run an increased risk of suffering from physical and mental illness, both in the short and long term.

RemovedRecital 8 b (new): (8b) Shelters and other appropriate interim accommodations for victims of crime play a vital role in protecting victims from acts of violence. They not only provide safe and emergency accommodation where victims can seek refuge from violence, but also long-term support to enable victims to rebuild violence-free lives. Shelters and other appropriate interim accommodations should be free of charge or paid for by a dedicated financial allowance for victims. Member States should also ensure that shelters are accessible for victims with reduced mobility and able to provide them with accessible means of information and communication. Member States should also have in place specific shelters and interim accommodations for victims of gender-based violence and domestic violence in line with Directive (EU) 2024/… of the European Parliament and of the Council1a as they are some of the most vital specialised support services for women who are victims of violence and for their children. / 1a Directive (EU) 2024/… of the European Parliament and of the Council of ... on combating violence against women and domestic violence (OJ L ..., ELI ...) [2022/0066 COD].

RemovedRecital 9: (9) For victims to sense that justice is done and to be able to defend their interest, it is important that they are present and able to actively participate in the criminal proceedings by being properly assisted at the court premises, including being accompanied by support services throughout the entire court proceedings if the victims so wish. That is why all victims in the Union, independently of their status in the criminal proceeding, which is established by the national law, should have a right to an effective remedy under national law in the event of a breach of their rights under this Directive. In addition, all victims in the Union, independently of their status in the criminal proceeding, should have a right to request a review of decisions that were taken during court proceedings and affect them directly. Such decisions should include at least decisions on interpretation during court hearings, decisions on special protection measures available to victims with special protection needs and decisions on avoiding contact between the victim and the offender. The procedural rules under which victims may request a review of such decisions taken during court proceedings should be determined by national law which should provide for the necessary guarantees that such a possibility of revision would not disproportionally prolong the criminal proceeding. Active participation in criminal proceedings and access to an effective remedy requires that victims are duly updated on the…

RemovedRecital 9 a (new): (9a) The right to legal aid is essential to guarantee universal access to justice and effective participation for victims in criminal proceedings. Therefore, Member States should provide free legal aid, covering all costs and expenses, for victims who do not have sufficient means to pay such costs and expenses in order to ensure their access to justice. Member States should also provide free legal aid for victims with specific protection needs as identified by the individual assessment pursuant to Article 22 in Directive 2012/29/EUand, in any case, victims of gender-based violence, terrorism or human trafficking, victims of abuse and mistreatment with disabilities and minors due to their situation of vulnerability and the long-lasting harm caused by those criminal offences.

RemovedRecital 10: (10) All victims should be assessed in a timely, adequate, efficient and proportionate manner. It is essential to ensure that victims receive the support and protection that correspond to their individual needs. The individual assessment of victims’ needs of support and protection should be done in stages. When assessing the victim’s protection and support needs, the primary concern should lie in safeguarding the victim’s safety and providing tailored support and protection, taking into account, among other matters, the individual circumstances of the victim, the impact of crime and trauma and their specific vulnerabilities. Within the first stage, all victims should be assessed from the first contact with the competent authorities, whose staff should be adequately trained, to ensure that the most vulnerable victims are identified at the very early stages of the proceeding. As of the next stages, victims who need such enhanced assessment should be assessed by victim support services including psychologists. Such services are best placed to assess the state of victims’ well-being. The individual assessment should also take into account the situation of the perpetrator, who may have a history of violence, have access to or be in a possession of arms or abusing drugs and as such pose higher risks for victims. The individual assessment of victims’ needs should also include the assessment of victims’ needs of support, not only of protection. It is essential to identify victims who…

RemovedRecital 11: (11) As a result of the enhanced assessment of victims’ needs for protection, victims who are in need of physical protection, in particular victims in life threatening situations, should be able to receive it in a form adapted to their particular situation. Such measures should include the presence of law enforcement authorities or being kept away from the offender on the basis of national barring, restraining or protection orders or the referral to shelters and other interim accommodations. Such measures may be of a criminal, administrative or civil law nature. Member States should enhance the awareness about the availability of such protection measures among relevant competent authorities and should ensure that victims are informed about the availability of such measures and are informed of their right to apply for them. In order to safeguard the effectiveness of barring, restraining or protection orders, breaches of such orders should be subject to effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties. Those penalties could be of a criminal, administrative or civil law nature and could include prison sentences, fines or any other legal penalty that is effective, proportionate and dissuasive.

RemovedRecital 11 a (new): (11a) Member States should create a legal and social environment that prioritises the well-being and dignity of victims while discouraging actions that could perpetuate harm or contribute to a permissive environment for criminal behaviour. For this reason, Member States should protect victims and their families from any form of mistreatment or disrespect, and prevent actions that could further harm their dignity or exacerbate their suffering. That includes preventing legal and social impunity of perpetrators of acts of terrorism and organised crime, as this represents a significant obstacle for the recovery and protection of victims. Member States should take measures to prevent the glorification of acts of terrorism or organised crime as such assaults on victims’ dignity may cause secondary victimisation and undermine recovery. Member States should prevent tributes to those found guilty of terrorist activities or organised crime by a final judgement in order to avoid secondary victimisation and should pay special attention to the victims in cases where they can suffer harassment or might fear to face reprisal or public ostracism.

RemovedRecital 11 b (new): (11b) In order to ensure the right to protection of the dignity of victims, the Member States must tackle the sharing of online material of a criminal offence in order to avoid secondary victimisation and other serious psychosocial consequences for the victim and to prevent the normalisation of violence. Member States should ensure that the identity of victims is protected. Such measures should apply especially to cases of gender-based violence, including sexual assault and rape, which aim to inflict fear and silence women.

RemovedRecital 13: (13) Victims cannot effectively benefit from their rights to information, to support and protection in accordance with their individual needs if they are faced with the national justice schemes that lack cooperation and coordination among those who come into contact with victims. Without close cooperation and coordination of the national law enforcement, prosecution, judiciary, restorative services, compensation services and victim support services, it is difficult for victims to effectively execute their rights under Directive 2012/29/EU. Other authorities, such as healthcare, education and social services, as well as non-governmental organisations, are encouraged to be part of this cooperation and coordination. This is particularly valid in relation to child victims.

RemovedRecital 13 a (new): (13a) Officials who are likely to come into personal contact with victims should have access to and receive regular, sufficient and appropriate training with regard to implementation of key aspects of Directive 2012/29/EU. Training for competent authorities should be effective, state of the art, interdisciplinary and multi-agency, and should take advantage of new technologies for enhancing engagement and interaction. Trainings should cover at least the identification of the type of harm suffered by victims, prevention of repeat and secondary victimisation, victim-sensitive communication, choice of adequate support and protection measures as well as effective coordination and referrals to victim support services. It should be delivered in cooperation with non-governmental organisations including victims’ associations and civil society organisations. In addition to general victims’ rights training for competent authorities, there should be dedicated training programmes on dealing with specific categories of victims. Mutual training and exchange of good practices among national authorities, including judicial and law enforcement authorities, and victim support organisations should also be promoted to ensure better support and protection of victims as well as coordination among the involved institutions and organisations. Training should be gender, child, and trauma sensitive, aim to avoid secondary victimisation and develop among other skills empathic communication and active li…

RemovedRecital 13 b (new): (13b) Member States should develop practical guidelines for competent authorities to advise victims of their rights, making sure that their rights are upheld. Those guidelines could include a checklist for professionals to be followed in all cases. Such practical guidelines should be in line with training provided to relevant competent authorities as well as with the national protocols to be established in accordance with this directive.

RemovedRecital 13 c (new): (13c) Despite significant improvements achieved since the entry into force of Directive 2012/29/EU, evidence shows that victims still often lack awareness of their rights, undermining the effectiveness of that Directive on the ground and discouraging victims from coming forward and reporting crime. It is therefore imperative that Member States put in place effective awareness-raising campaigns in order to increase the awareness of victims of their rights under that Directive, or further rights under national law, where applicable. At the same time, Member States should work to increase awareness also among the population at large, including in schools. Such campaigns should be conducted via a variety of channels, including the media, social media, posters in public transport, leaflets in courts, hospitals and police stations or mobile applications. Moreover, Member States should improve the identification of places to which victims can reach out and find help in exercising their rights under that Directive, for example including through signposting or setting up of public directories and registries, for instance of accredited support organisations or lawyers. When introducing those measures, Member States should aim to develop them equally for all types of crimes.

RemovedRecital 14: (14) National protocols are essential to ensure that victims receive information in a consistent manner about their rights and about their case and that victims are adequately assessed to enable them to receive the support and protection that corresponds to each victims’ individual needs that change in time. National protocols are essential tools to achieve well-coordinated individual assessments, avoid secondary victimisation and enhance the coordination and cooperation among competent authorities, general support services, and specialist support services, including clear referral pathways. Protocols should be established by legislative measures in a way that corresponds best to national legal orders and the organisation of justice in the Member States. This should regulate the actions on provision of information to victims, facilitating crime reporting for the most vulnerable victims, including those in detention and accommodation facilities where individuals are not permitted to leave at will and the individual assessment of victims’ needs. The legislative measures setting up the protocols should specify essential elements necessary for the processing of data including, the recipients of the personal data and the categories of data that will be processed in the context of operation of the protocols. The protocols should provide for general instructions on how to deal with services and actions under Directive 2012/29/EU in a comprehensive manner without however dealing with…

RemovedRecital 15: (15) Member States should allocate sufficient human, financial and technical resources to ensure an effective compliance with the measures set out in Directive 2012/29/EU. Special attention should be paid to the establishment of victims’ helplines, ensuring smooth functioning of general and specialist support services and individual assessment of victims’ needs for protection and for support, including where such services are provided by non-governmental organisations.

RemovedRecital 16: (16) The Union and the Member States are parties to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and are bound by its obligations to the extent of their respective competences. Under Article 13 of that Convention the States Parties are obliged to ensure effective access to justice for persons with disabilities on an equal basis with others, hence the needs to ensure accessibility and provide reasonable accommodation as well as procedural accommodation so that victims with disability enjoy their rights as victims on equal basis with others. Procedural accommodation consists of all necessary and appropriate modifications and adjustments in the context of access to justice to ensure the participation of persons with disabilities on an equal basis with others, including for example measures needed to ensure communication with the court. The accessibility requirements set in Annex I to Directive (EU) 2019/882 of the European Parliament and of the Council60 can facilitate the implementation of that Convention and ensure that the victims’ rights laid down by Directive 2012/29/EU are accessible for persons with disabilities.

RemovedRecital 18: (18) The collection of accurate and coherent data, including both qualitative and quantitative data, and the timely publication of collected data and statistics are fundamental to ensure full knowledge on the rights of victims of crime within the Union and to monitor the implementation of Directive 2012/29/EU. The statistics should include data relevant to the application of national procedures for victims of crime, including at least the number and type of the reported crime and the number, age, sex, gender and disability, if any, of the victim, and the type of the offence and the nature of the relationship between the victim and the offender. The data should include information on whether victims have suffered a crime due to a bias or discriminatory motive. The collected data should allow the development of qualitative assessments on the remaining barriers when reporting crimes and accessing victims’ rights. Introducing a requirement for Member States to collect and report to the Commission data on the application of national procedures on victims of crime every three years in a harmonised way is expected to constitute a relevant step to ensure the adoption of data-informed policies and strategies. The reporting of Member States every three-year should be coordinated and harmonised to ensure better comparability of data. To this end, Member States should have a synchronised timeline for reporting the data collected under this Directive. The Fundamental Rights Agency should …

RemovedRecital 18 a (new): (18a) Member States should record, collect and transmit data on offline and online gender-based violence, including violence against women, domestic violence, sexual violence and femicide, as well as hate speech and hate crimes, which are disproportionately affecting women, LGBTIQ+ persons and children and are also still widely underreported.

RemovedRecital 18 b (new): (18b) Member States should facilitate the tasks of a victims’ rights coordinator as set out in the EU Strategy on victims’ rights (2020-2025) with the aim of ensuring consistency and effectiveness of actions in relation to the victims’ rights policy. The particular tasks of the coordinator are to ensure a smooth functioning of the Victims’ Rights Platform and the implementation of the EU Strategy on victims’ rights as well as to synchronise the victims’ rights related actions of other Union level stakeholders, notably if relevant to the application of Directive 2012/92/EU.

RemovedDirective 2012/29/EU

RemovedArticle 1 – paragraph 1 – point 1, Article 3a – paragraph 1 – introductory part: 1. Member States shall take the necessary measures to establish easily accessible, user friendly, secure, free of charge and confidential victims’ helplines which:

RemovedDirective 2012/29

RemovedArticle 1 – paragraph 1 – point 1, Article 3a – paragraph 1 – point b: (b) offer emotional and psychological support;

RemovedDirective 2012/29/EU