- 2025-12-06 “Because, as we know, unfortunately, sometimes children fall victims of crime by the holder of parental responsibility. And this is what we're trying to do with this revision of the Victims Rights Directive. And we hope for a swift outcome of these negotiations. But in addition to that, we have the EU strategy on Victims rights 2020, 2025, where we have a series of non-legislative actions to improve the rights of victims, including child victims. In the EU, for example, this includes child friendly conditions in the aftermath of a crime, promotion of structures, providing for targeted and integrated support for victims. We also, I don't know if you have seen, but we had a huge campaign on victims rights and there was a focus on that, on child victimization, An important addition to this campaign was a book that we published, The Girl Who Kept Her Eyes Open, which raises awareness about the rights of victims of war, crime and child victims in particular. In this instance, the commissioner announced during his hearing that he intends to propose a new strategy on victims rights to follow up on the on the current one. And now we have started gathering ideas for this next strategy, and I can confirm that child victims will be one of the key elements that we will be looking into this strategy. So that's what I wanted to say. Thank you very much. And if there are any questions I'm happy to answer in the end.”
Privacy & detection of online child abuse · EU policy on criminal justice · EU policy on victims' compensation rights
- 2025-12-06 “But as the chair said, children also fall victims of crime. They're not only perpetrators, of course, but they're also victims. What do we have in relation to rights of children as victims in the area of victims? We have the Victims Rights Directive from 2012 and and but we don't have any specific instrument. What we do have is specific provisions in the Victims Rights Directive that recognises the special needs for support and protection of child victims. The underlying principle is that children are vulnerable and therefore their best interests must be the primary consideration. You probably also know that now we are in the process of revising the Victims Victims Rights Directive. We have tabled the proposal in July 2023 and we are in the process of very intense negotiations on the Victims Rights Directive. And this proposal, when it's adopted, will further strengthen the rights of victims of crime in the EU, including child victims. Some of the issues that we are proposing in this directive, and they seem to be headed in a good direction in the interinstitutional negotiations, is for a targeted, multi-agency approach to support and protect victims. This is very important because you get all the stakeholders together, all the competent authorities, but also the the, the persons dealing with providing support to, to victims to get them together in order to provide the best possible support to the victim and to protect them. We also are including provisions where the crime involves the holder of parental responsibility, or there is a conflict of interest between the child and the holder of parental responsibility.”
EU policy on criminal justice · EU policy on victims' compensation rights · Privacy & law enforcement
- 2025-12-06 “Well, thank you. And I mean, it's a privilege that I. Now that I know that you negotiated the directive in 2016. I was not there. So you have a lot more experience on this file compared to me. So it's a pleasure to hear from you. And exchange of best practices is actually a very good idea. We would be incredibly happy to consider, like a meeting with the member states working on on these matters to have an exchange of views. I will certainly take that back and explore the possibility, but it's a very good idea indeed. Thank you. And in relation to online crime, I mean, the situation is horrifying. Indeed. We are aware and we are working, um, at various levels. So there is the directive on child sexual abuse where is negotiated by my colleagues in DG home. But that is irrelevant. We are one commission and we work very closely with them to ensure that we have solid victims provisions in there. So that's one aspect of what we're doing. And something that was actually came from the European Parliament in the negotiations for the Victims Rights Directive, and we very much supported it is to have training of all professionals coming in contact with all types of victims, including child victims, to have special training on online offences so that they are they know much better about how they can help the victims. So this is also something that indeed it came from the European Parliament. We're very grateful for this proposal. We strongly supported it. And the council is also, um, accepting this proposal. So we we hope to be making a difference in this respect, um, on online hate crime for victims. Thank you.”
Privacy & detection of online child abuse · EU policy on criminal justice · Privacy & law enforcement
- 2025-12-06 “What we also have is new issues relating only to children. So we have what we call the right to an individual assessment of the specific circumstances, needs and vulnerabilities of children. These individual assessment is meant to provide competent authorities and judges with a better understanding of why, and in which context a child may have committed the crime. These insights of the individual assessment, then, are supposed to inform decisions on measures to protect and support the child, prevent the commission of further offences and facilitate their rehabilitation and social reintegration. An additional right we have in relation to children is that we have rules on detention of children. Now, as you know, we know, we don't have rules about detention matters in general in the EU. We only have a recommendation from 2022 about detention issues. But in relation to children, this is actually in the legal instrument, the Children's Rights Directive. And it's very interesting because it does say that detention should be a measure of last resort for children. Detention should be reviewed frequently, and the best interests of the child should always be the guiding principle. Now where are we with this directive? Last year we published a report on the implementation of the directive. And we are also we have also opened a significant number of infringement proceedings to remedy incomplete transposition. So we are monitoring this very diligently. We are doing everything necessary to ensure that this is absolutely and correctly applied in all the Member States, and this is in relation to children and suspects and accused persons.”
EU policy on integration and ethnic, racial and religious discrimination · Child poverty policy · EU policy on criminal justice
- 2025-12-06 “Thank you. So, um, on Barnhouse model. Um, which basically means having the services provided to children in the same premises. This is what this is what in essence, it means. It was proposed by the Commission in its proposal. It received a very strong support from the European Parliament and even reinforcement that we were very grateful for. But unfortunately, there is some resistance by member states on this point. And so, um, I mean, we will see how the negotiations go, but, uh, yeah, there is there is resistance from member states on this point, um, citing various reasons that I have. They have other models that work that there are, you know, geographical reasons for not being able to provide such services to, to all children, um, that sometimes a child might not want this kind of service if if it means that they have to travel for 200km to reach such premises. So there were there were a variety of um of concerns raised by member states. And as I said, we're still discussing, but we will see how that ends up. But what I do want to say is that, um, already with the co-legislators, we have agreements on what we call targeted, integrated, multi-agency support for child victims. What that means is that all the various stakeholders must, must sit together and must consider a variety of factors relevant for children and provide additional services to children compared to other victims. And that includes, for example, following some recommendations from the suggestions by the European Parliament, also administrative assistance, social assistance. And these are things that are incredibly valuable and that will greatly enhance the support provided to child victims. So that is already a very key achievement that we are incredibly happy about now, whether we achieve the Barnhouse model or not in the negotiations. That's something that remains to be seen, but we're already happy with the improvements that we are achieving with these negotiations. Thank you.”
Privacy & detection of online child abuse · EU policy on criminal justice · EU policy on victims' compensation rights
- 2025-12-06 “Many thanks. Hello to everybody, and thank you very much for the invitation and your interest in child friendly justice. And a child friendly. A child centered justice is a long standing priority for the Commission. The vulnerability of children, whether they are victims of crime or suspects or accused persons, is acute. With appropriate safeguards, it is difficult to ensure the best interests are always a primary consideration. However, when it comes to criminal matters, we have actual EU legal framework designed specifically specifically for children, and this EU legal framework is designed to accommodate children's specific needs but also take into account children's vulnerabilities. What we aim to promote in terms of contact with children, with the justice system, in criminal matters is a multidisciplinary approach, and we have strong EU criminal law instruments in this respect. The first one is when it comes to procedural safeguards. When children are suspects or accused persons. We have a directive, a specific directive from 2016 that regulates their rights. These rules aim to ensure that children can exercise their rights of a suspect and accused person effectively. Now what does that mean? I mean, we already have framework for rights of suspects and accused persons in criminal proceedings, and they're applicable to everybody. But when it comes to children, in addition to those general rights applying, we have some more specific rules designed for children. For example, children must always have legal assistance. Always. The state is obliged to provide them with legal assistance in all situations. Children have a more extensive right to information, so they shouldn't only understand their rights, but they should also be informed about the context of the proceedings.”
EU policy on criminal justice · Privacy & law enforcement · EU policy on victims' compensation rights
- “What we also have is new issues relating only to children. So we have what we call the right to an individual assessment of the specific circumstances, needs and vulnerabilities of children. These individual assessment is meant to provide competent authorities and judges with a better understanding of why, and in which context a child may have committed the crime. These insights of the individual assessment, then, are supposed to inform decisions on measures to protect and support the child, prevent the commission of further offences and facilitate their rehabilitation and social reintegration. An additional right we have in relation to children is that we have rules on detention of children. Now, as you know, we know, we don't have rules about detention matters in general in the EU. We only have a recommendation from 2022 about detention issues. But in relation to children, this is actually in the legal instrument, the Children's Rights Directive. And it's very interesting because it does say that detention should be a measure of last resort for children. Detention should be reviewed frequently, and the best interests of the child should always be the guiding principle. Now where are we with this directive? Last year we published a report on the implementation of the directive. And we are also we have also opened a significant number of infringement proceedings to remedy incomplete transposition. So we are monitoring this very diligently. We are doing everything necessary to ensure that this is absolutely and correctly applied in all the Member States, and this is in relation to children and suspects and accused persons.”
EU policy on integration and ethnic, racial and religious discrimination · Child poverty policy · EU policy on criminal justice
- “Because, as we know, unfortunately, sometimes children fall victims of crime by the holder of parental responsibility. And this is what we're trying to do with this revision of the Victims Rights Directive. And we hope for a swift outcome of these negotiations. But in addition to that, we have the EU strategy on Victims rights 2020, 2025, where we have a series of non-legislative actions to improve the rights of victims, including child victims. In the EU, for example, this includes child friendly conditions in the aftermath of a crime, promotion of structures, providing for targeted and integrated support for victims. We also, I don't know if you have seen, but we had a huge campaign on victims rights and there was a focus on that, on child victimization, An important addition to this campaign was a book that we published, The Girl Who Kept Her Eyes Open, which raises awareness about the rights of victims of war, crime and child victims in particular. In this instance, the commissioner announced during his hearing that he intends to propose a new strategy on victims rights to follow up on the on the current one. And now we have started gathering ideas for this next strategy, and I can confirm that child victims will be one of the key elements that we will be looking into this strategy. So that's what I wanted to say. Thank you very much. And if there are any questions I'm happy to answer in the end.”
Privacy & detection of online child abuse · EU policy on criminal justice · EU policy on victims' compensation rights
- “Thank you. So, um, on Barnhouse model. Um, which basically means having the services provided to children in the same premises. This is what this is what in essence, it means. It was proposed by the Commission in its proposal. It received a very strong support from the European Parliament and even reinforcement that we were very grateful for. But unfortunately, there is some resistance by member states on this point. And so, um, I mean, we will see how the negotiations go, but, uh, yeah, there is there is resistance from member states on this point, um, citing various reasons that I have. They have other models that work that there are, you know, geographical reasons for not being able to provide such services to, to all children, um, that sometimes a child might not want this kind of service if if it means that they have to travel for 200km to reach such premises. So there were there were a variety of um of concerns raised by member states. And as I said, we're still discussing, but we will see how that ends up. But what I do want to say is that, um, already with the co-legislators, we have agreements on what we call targeted, integrated, multi-agency support for child victims. What that means is that all the various stakeholders must, must sit together and must consider a variety of factors relevant for children and provide additional services to children compared to other victims. And that includes, for example, following some recommendations from the suggestions by the European Parliament, also administrative assistance, social assistance. And these are things that are incredibly valuable and that will greatly enhance the support provided to child victims. So that is already a very key achievement that we are incredibly happy about now, whether we achieve the Barnhouse model or not in the negotiations. That's something that remains to be seen, but we're already happy with the improvements that we are achieving with these negotiations. Thank you.”
EU policy on criminal justice · EU policy on victims' compensation rights · Support for families
- “But as the chair said, children also fall victims of crime. They're not only perpetrators, of course, but they're also victims. What do we have in relation to rights of children as victims in the area of victims? We have the Victims Rights Directive from 2012 and and but we don't have any specific instrument. What we do have is specific provisions in the Victims Rights Directive that recognises the special needs for support and protection of child victims. The underlying principle is that children are vulnerable and therefore their best interests must be the primary consideration. You probably also know that now we are in the process of revising the Victims Victims Rights Directive. We have tabled the proposal in July 2023 and we are in the process of very intense negotiations on the Victims Rights Directive. And this proposal, when it's adopted, will further strengthen the rights of victims of crime in the EU, including child victims. Some of the issues that we are proposing in this directive, and they seem to be headed in a good direction in the interinstitutional negotiations, is for a targeted, multi-agency approach to support and protect victims. This is very important because you get all the stakeholders together, all the competent authorities, but also the the, the persons dealing with providing support to, to victims to get them together in order to provide the best possible support to the victim and to protect them. We also are including provisions where the crime involves the holder of parental responsibility, or there is a conflict of interest between the child and the holder of parental responsibility.”
Child poverty policy · EU policy on criminal justice · EU policy on victims' compensation rights