Implementation of Directive 2011/99/EU on the European protection order

The European Parliament adopted by 475 votes to 51, with 28 abstentions, a resolution on the implementation of Directive 2011/99/EU on the European Protection Order.

As a reminder, Directive 2011/99/EU allows persons benefitting from a criminal protection order in criminal matters issued in one Member State to apply for a European protection order in another Member State.

This instrument is based on the principle of mutual recognition, which means that protection orders issued in one Member State have to be recognised and enforced in another Member State.

Assessment of the implementation of the Directive: Parliament noted with concern that since the transposition of the EPO Directive, only seven EPOs have been identified across the Member States, although thousands of national protection orders have been requested and issued in the Member States in recent years.

There is a significant gap between coordination and communication among the Member States when an EPO is executed. Bearing this in mind, Members called on the Member States to improve and jointly enhance cooperation and communication in relation to the EPO as this would set in motion much more efficient procedures and simultaneous cross-border action among the Member States.

The Commission was asked to set up a European Registry System in order to collect information on EPOs from all Member States. Members called for one standard form, valid in both criminal and civil cases and in all Member States, to be designed and used in applying for and recognising protection orders.

Furthermore, they considered that, in order to fulfil its potential and to ensure equivalent protection measures in both the issuing and executing state, the issuance of the protection order must be as fast, effective, efficient and automatic as possible and involve minimum bureaucracy. Parliament called on the Commission and the Member States to fix a clear and short timeframe of two weeks for the competent authorities of the Member States when issuing EPOs.

Parliament asked the Member States to publish an exhaustive list of the competent authorities responsible for issuing and recognising European protection orders. The Commission is invited to monitor the implementation of the Directive and to open infringement procedures against all Member States that infringe it.

Recommendations relating to gender-based violence: Parliament called on Member States to strongly condemn gender-based violence and violence against women, to undertake to eradicate all forms of violence, ensuring zero tolerance of such violence. It asked the Commission:

• to include the protection of all citizens, especially those in the most vulnerable situations, in the European Agenda on Security with a focus on the victims of crimes such as trafficking in human beings or gender-based violence, including victims of terrorism, who also need special attention, support and social recognition;
• to set up campaigns to encourage women to report any forms of violence on the basis of gender, so that they may be protected and so that the accuracy of data on gender-based violence can be improved;
• to present a legal act to support Member States in their actions to prevent and eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls.

Member States were called upon to step up their work with NGOs protecting the victims of violence in order to design strategies in relation to gender-based violence. Parliament called for action conducive to the progressive convergence of legislation on violent behaviour resulting in protection orders.

A coherent EU legal framework protecting victims: Parliament urged Member States and the Commission to introduce the issue of gender equality into all their policies, in particular those potentially related to raising awareness of violence against women. It called on the Commission, in line with Parliament’s resolution of 12 September 2017 on EU accession to the Istanbul Convention, to designate an EU coordinator on violence against women.

All Member States that have not yet done so were invited to ratify the Istanbul Convention and ensure the appropriate training of all professionals responsible for the care of victims of acts of violence covered by the Convention.

The Commission was called upon to take measures to review the existing instruments for the legal protection of victims of crime and to establish a coherent legal protection framework at Union level.