At a sitting held on August 31st 2011, the Committee on European Affairs and Oversight of the European Funds (CEAOEF) reviewed the proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and the Council establishing minimum standards on the rights, support and protection of victims of crimes COM (2011) 275. The Directive is listed as Article 53 on the Annual Working Agenda of the National Assembly on the issues related to the European union.

The proposal for a directive seeks to set minimum standards on the protection of the victims of crimes on the territory of the European Union. It also envisages provision of protection and support for the victims’ families. The provisions proposed in the project for a Directive would foment the fundamental rights of those who suffer from crime in the European Union regardless of their citizenship or country of residence.

CEAOEF welcomes the European Commission's initiative to establish minimum standards on the protection of the victims of crime without creating additional administrative and financial burden. Acting in accordance with its responsibilities stipulated in the Treaty of Lisbon, CEAOEF finds the proposal in compliance with the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality.

Regarding the formulation of the proposal, CEAOEF recommends that the need to further expand the definition of the term “family members” be assessed. CEAOEF deems that the inclusion of registered partners and non-marital cohabitees among the people considered as “family members” would hinder the transposition and implementation of the Directive in some of the Member-States. Furthermore, it should be noted that national laws recognize registered partnerships in only 14 of the Member-States and that not all Member-States, including Bulgaria, have devised legal provisions in this area. This consideration is further laid out in CEAOEF's position on the proposal for a Council Regulation on jurisdiction, applicable law and the recognition and enforcement of decisions regarding the property consequences of registered partnerships COM(2011) 127 in relation to the application of the term “registered partnership”.

The Bulgarian National Assembly's position on the proposal for a Directive, expressed by the Committee on European Affairs and Oversight of the European Funds, was sent to the presidents of the European Commission and the European Parliament within the framework of the political dialogue.

CEAOEF's report on the proposal for a directive is available at the following link:

http://parliament.bg/en/parliamentarycommittees/members/240/documents