Brussels, 27/03/2000 (Agence Europe) - The problem of Gibraltar still being unresolved at this stage (despite progress made between Spain and the United Kingdom), the agenda of the Justice/Home Affairs Council on Monday was lighter as points linked to this problem were taken off. Points removed were: insolvency procedures, service of judicial and extra-judicial acts in the civil and commercial areas, Eurodac, negotiating brief with a view to the involvement of Iceland and Norway in the Dublin Convention. We give below an overview of the first results:
In the evening,: a) the Council did not manage to settle the problem of a fiscal nature raised by Luxembourg in the framework of the draft convention on mutual legal assistance in the penal sector; b) the Netherlands retaliated by blocking the political agreement on the framework-decision relating to the setting up of joint investigating teams; c) a political agreement was on the point of being made on the framework-decision aimed at strengthening the euro's protection against counterfeiters. EUROPE will return to the other results of the session.
Broad consensus among ministers on need for specific measures in favour of victims of crime
It was with a very consensual "open debate" that the Justice/Home Affairs Council opened on Monday morning, jointly chaired by Portuguese Ministers Fernando Gomes (Home Affairs) and Antonio Santos da Costa (Justice). After their introductory presentations (which were … censored by the relevant technical services of the Secretariat General, as well as, partially, by that of Commissioner Antonio Vitorino, which casts an additional shadow on the real need for such debates to which the public are allowed with the aid of video and ear-phones), the remarks by ministers showed that the initiatives of the European Commission and Presidency aimed at improving the protection of victims in the European legal area were very largely supported, as well as their hope to make them a top priority area.
In his preliminary speech, Antonio Vitorino stressed the need for the efforts of Member States to give assistance to the victims of crime, whatever their nationality, to be completed by action at Union level. Refusing to speak of detailed aspects of the suggestions contained in the Commission's communication of July last, he considered that the heads of government had, during the extraordinary summit of Tampere, called on the Council not only to come to an agreement on measures aimed at crime prevention but also to establish norms that citizens who are victims of crime may refer to wherever they may be in the EU. Hence his enthusiastic support of the proposed framework decision aimed at taking into account victims of crime in criminal procedures. This involves defining what may be done in terms of prevention, assistance to victims and compensation to be paid to victims.
During the round-the-table discussion, Swedish Justice Minister Laila Freivalds supported the approach of the Commission while hinting that it would be preferable for the question of damages to be tackled
decision, which would be unfortunate". Danish national Frank Jensen considered, on the other hand, that it was necessary to obtain compensation for victims from "State funds" (he also called for the "defence possibilities of the person charged" not to be changed). British national Barbara Roche, who admitted that the interests of victims had been at the bottom of the list of Council priorities for too long, considered that persons having undergone injuries deserved to be compensated in particular. The Austrian Minister for Home Affairs, Ernst Strasser, stressed the need to prevent "double victimisation" and stressed, for example, that a woman who is the victim of rape must be questioned by a woman police officer who has received the appropriate training. His colleague for justice, Dieter Böhmdorfer, explained for his part that the Austrian authorities had taken measures for the victims of forced labour at the time of the nazis to be rapidly compensated. Vienna acknowledges "its moral obligation" to do so. The Italian Interior Minister, Enzo Bianco (who noted the experience gained from the fight against the mafia when he was mayor of Catania), began by drawing attention to the need to ensure the protection of "witnesses who can ensure the effectiveness of the legal system" before stressing that the "time of denunciation", "when the victim comes up against bureaucracy", was "particularly tricky" (he spoke of current experience in his own country, and emphasised the fact that victims may be heard in their own home). The Italian Secretary of State for Justice Giuseppe Maria Ayala cited, for his part, three fundamental questions, namely: a) "protection in the context of the trial" (access to documents, technical assistance, interpreters, etc.); b) the protection of victims for the "preservation of dignity and confidentiality"; c) the "effectiveness of sanctions". Finnish Justice Minister Johannes Koskinen praised the placed given to the victim in the Finnish criminal proceedings (victims may above all claim damages), while admitting that there were still things that could be done to perfect the system. In his view, at European level, the first thing to do would be for all member States to ratify the convention of the 1993 Council of Europe on compensation to victims. Such compensation could be at national level, although the crime could take place elsewhere. Dutch national Benk Korthals felt that the police must "show a greater interest in the victim", which implies "more appropriate basic training". Speaking on behalf of Germany, the parliamentary secretary of State for Justice, Eckart Pick, said that national policies could no longer "stop at borders". He went on to point out that it was essential to "preserve the human dignity" of victims of sexual crimes (mainly children). Margarita Mariscal, from Spain, made it clear that the time had come to "bring the victims into the circuit" between the public authority and the person guilty of the crime. She then urged for "very flexible solutions" under the "common umbrella" of the Council of Europe Convention that "Spain will be able to sign very rapidly". Her French colleague, Elisabeth Guigou, gave her assurance that the next
Council Presidency would feel strongly about making this proposal for a framework decision move forward, considering that the Member States should endeavour to facilitate access to justice for victims of "any nationality, including for nationals of other countries outside the Union". From her point of view, "decisive progress" may be achieved regarding information and access to justice despite the existence of "different criminal procedures" (Interior Minister Chevènement spoke out for the establishment of "local police services"). Marc Verwilghen, from Belgium, felt that "respect, access and protection of privacy" were the "key words for creating a criminal system with a human face". He then went on to express the hope that the victim may "take part in all the stages of the procedure, including that of application of the sentence". His Irish colleague, John O'Donoghue, considered it particularly important that the victim's privacy should not be encroached upon, and that it should be possible for witnesses to be heard by video link. There should be compensation of a moral kind but those found guilty of crime should be responsible for financial compensation.