Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, the report before us today is the result of an initiative by the Portuguese Presidency and is part of a range of measures designed to promote the creation of an area of freedom, security and justice, in order to provide a useful response to the everyday concerns of the European public. Often, when we address issues of justice, we devote too much time to the penal system, to prisons, to crime-fighting forces, to criminal codes and even to the claims of those in the legal profession. It may be that we have devoted too little time to the victims, who are often the weakest members of society. This initiative targets three basic aspects: the victim’s right to information, access to justice and their right to compensation for damages. The priority of this proposal for a framework decision is to promote the protection and effectiveness of victims’ rights in this process, specifically with regard to simplifying access to the law, to the courts and to legal information as well as to promote and protect victims’ rights in the field of compensation for loss and damages. It is crucial that there should be a legal instrument that enables national legislation in the various Member States on the victim’s status to be harmonised. There are certainly various aspects which need to be improved and even put right, but what is important is that we vote for this framework decision, which is quite well-balanced. Indeed, we cannot talk seriously about a Citizens’ Europe unless we take account of victims’ rights. Amongst these victims, special attention should be paid, as Mrs Smet has already pointed out, to certain categories of victims, such as minors, foreigners, victims of sexual attacks and victims of terrorist acts. At the same time, special training should be provided for the professionals whose task it is to come into direct contact with victims. The necessary measures to ensure that the victims can re-establish their normal lives should also be provided, not only in financial terms, but also so that they may benefit, should it prove necessary, from legal, psychological or medical assistance or help from the social services. Finally, I wish to congratulate the rapporteur, Mrs Cerdeira Morterero, on her work and on the numerous improvements that she implemented in the Committee on Citizens' Freedoms and Rights, Justice and Home Affairs. I also wish to express my satisfaction at the improvements resulting from the reports by Mrs Smet and Mr Lehne. We were able to work together in the Committee on Citizens' Freedoms and Rights, Justice and Home Affairs and I wish to emphasise this fact and express my gratitude for it. I only wish it had been possible to achieve the same consensus in Parliament. The few proposals for amendments that we tabled mainly concern issues of legal rigour and our understanding that victim support services do not have to be exclusively or even preferably run by the public sector. Often, in services that wish to have a human face, the best experiences are provided by institutions of social solidarity and other non-governmental organisations. Overall, the welcomes Mrs Cerdeira Morterero’s report, for which we have already voted in committee.

Political group: PPE-DE