Victims’ Rights: Commissioner Reynders launches new platform and presents first European Commission’s Coordinator for victims’ rights

At a high-level videoconference this afternoon, co-hosted with the German Presidency, Commissioner for Justice, Didier Reynders, will inaugurate the new Victims’ Rights Platform – an important deliverable following the adoption of the first EU Strategy on Victims’ Rights earlier this year. The new platform, which will meet annually and on an ad-hoc basis when necessary, will serve as an important forum for discussions on victims’ rights with all relevant actors. These include the European Network on Victims’ Rights, the EU Network of national contact points for compensation, the EU Counter–Terrorism Coordinator, Eurojust, the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights and civil society. In addition to these organisations, who will also participate this afternoon, the event will gather EU Ministers of Justice and Members of the European Parliament. At the conference, Commissioner Reynders will also introduce the Commission’s newly appointed Coordinator for Victims’ Rights – Katarzyna Janicka-Pawlowska. Ahead of the event, Commissioner Reynders said: “Today is an important moment in our work to protect victims’ rights in the European Union. With a new EU-wide Victims’ Rights Platform and a new Coordinator for Victims’ Rights, we are showing clear commitment to carry this work on, and only a few months after the Commission presented the first EU strategy in this area. I welcome the support of the German Presidency as well as our stakeholders, and I look forward to our cooperation going forward. On 24 June 2020, the Commission adopted the first ever EU Strategy on Victims’ Rights. The primary goal is to ensure that all victims of crime can rely on their rights no matter where in the European Union and no matter in what circumstances the crime happened. More information on the Strategy is available here.