The fourth meeting of inter-institutional negotiations on the revision of the directive on victims’ rights (see EUROPE 13221/17), held on the evening of Wednesday 25 June, ended in deadlock.
After four hours of discussions, no compromise was reached between the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union, just a few days before the end of the Polish Presidency of the Council.
According to our sources, the disagreements centred around sexual and reproductive rights, in particular access to abortion for victims of sexual violence.
The negotiations reflected disagreements between the parliamentary Civil Liberties Committee (LIBE), for which the rapporteur is Javier Zarzalejos (EPP, Spanish), and the Women’s Rights Committee (FEMM), for which Lucia Yar (Renew Europe, Slovak) is rapporteur. Ms Yar was reportedly supported by a coalition refusing any weakening of the position adopted by Parliament in April 2024.
This position explicitly provides that “access to abortion care” be included among the specialised support services for victims with specific needs, which goes beyond the wording of the 2024 directive on violence against women, which provides for access to care “in accordance with national law” and to which the Council Presidency refers.
In the run-up to the trilogue (see EUROPE 13667/20), the Polish Presidency had put forward a number of concessions on technical articles, such as legal aid, compensation and support for children.
In a statement issued after the meeting, the Polish Presidency deplored Parliament’s inability to express a clear position, despite numerous compromise proposals. It added that victims will have to wait for this important legislation, which has suffered from political disagreements within the European Parliament.
Shadow rapporteur Assita Kanko (ECR, Belgian) denounced the “ideological obsession of the left”.
For the shadow rapporteurs from Renew Europe, S&D, Greens/EFA and The Left, there is no question of adopting a text that is less favourable than those voted on recently, according to a parliamentary source.
The Danish Presidency, which starts at the beginning of July, will now take over the discussions, which is raising considerable expectations.
Denmark was the first country in the world, in 1973, to legalise free abortion up to 12 weeks, extended to 18 weeks in 2024.
A fifth trilogue is expected after the summer break. (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)