Freedom, security and justice : assistance, compensation and access to justice for crime victims. Tampere, 1999

The European Parliament adopted a resolution drafted by its rapporteur Patsy SORENSEN (Green/ALE, Belgium) on the Commission Communication on crime victims in the EU. Parliament welcomed the communication and called for measures to improve the situation of victims. The Commission should not, however, confine itself to calling on the Member States to exchange best practices but should also take advantage of the forms of action offered by the Treaties. It suggests concrete measures that can be taken and expects the Commission to focus on a list of areas as regards these measures. These areas include: -acknowledgement that family and dependents are also victims -the right to an interpreter -the necessary material and medical assistance -the adoption of special protective arrangements for minors. The Commission is urged to devote special attention to the need for training police and judicial officials with regard to sex offences. A coordinated European system of victim services programmes should be established. The fact that terrorism generates a special category of victims must be considered in formulating definitions.�