Diagrama de Gantt Final
2. PROCESO DE ACCESO Y TRATAMIENTO DE DATOS Descripción
legislative package on procedural rights
The Commission moved towards completing its roadmap on procedural rights in criminal proceedings with a number of proposals. The aim of all these measures is to guarantee fair trial rights for all citizens, wherever they are in the EU. Once adopted, the proposals will help to increase mutual trust in Member States’ judicial systems and therefore ensure the smooth functioning of the European area of justice.
There are over 9 million criminal proceedings in the EU every year. Since 2010, the Commission has been steadily working to set common EU standards in all criminal proceedings.
Viviane Reding, European Commission Vice-President responsible for Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship, at the press conference in Brussels, Belgium, to announce a package of proposals strengthening citizens’ right to a fair trial in criminal proceedings across the Union.
In November 2013, the Commission presented a proposal for a directive on the strengthening of certain aspects of the presumption of innocence and of the right to be present at trial in criminal proceedings (32). As part of the same package it proposed a directive on procedural safeguards for children suspected or accused in criminal proceedings (33) and a directive on the right to provisional legal aid for suspects or accused persons in criminal proceedings and for persons sought in European arrest warrant proceedings (34). In addition, it adopted a recommendation on the right to legal aid for suspects or accused persons in criminal proceedings (35) and a recom- mendation on procedural safeguards for vulnerable persons suspected or accused in criminal proceedings (36).
Access to a lawyer
One central measure in this effort to secure fair trial rights for all citizens was adopted by the Parliament and the Council in the autumn: the directive on the right of access to a lawyer and the right to communicate upon deprivation of liberty (37), which the Commission had presented in 2011 (38). The new law means anyone who is a suspect — no matter where they are in the European Union — will be guaranteed the right to see a lawyer from the earliest stages of proceedings until their conclusion. The new rules would also ensure that anyone arrested has the opportunity to communicate with their family. If they are in another EU country, citizens would have the right to be in contact with their country’s consulate.
The Commission oversees compliance with treaties
The Commission launched the so-called ‘Article 39 procedure’ against Croatia, which provides for the activation of the justice and home affairs safeguard clause in Croatia’s accession treaty. The decision was taken in view of the continued non- compliance by Croatia with the European Arrest Warrant framework decision (39).
In response, Croatia committed to amending its legislation by 1 January 2014 at the latest, so as to comply with the framework decision.
drugs package
Drugs are a complex social and health problem that affects millions of individuals in the EU. Each year, around 6 500 persons in the EU die because of a drug overdose. In addition to controlled drugs, subjected to restriction measures under the UN conven- tions on drugs, a growing number of new psychoactive substances, which imitate the effects of UN-controlled drugs, are emerging and spreading fast in the internal market. The Commission presented in 2013 a package of two legislative proposals aiming at enhancing the effectiveness of EU action on new psychoactive substan- ces (40). Under the rules, harmful psychoactive substances will be withdrawn quickly from the market, without jeopardising their various legitimate industrial and com- mercial uses.
G E N E R A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 3 — C H A P T E R 4
Establishment of a European public prosecutor’s office to protect the financial interests of the Union
In July, the Commission delivered on its promise to apply a zero-tolerance policy towards fraud against the EU budget, presenting a proposal (41) to establish a Euro- pean Public Prosecutor’s Office. This is an essential tool to improve Union-wide prosecution of criminals who defraud EU taxpayers. When it comes to taxpayers’ money, every euro counts — even more so in today’s economic climate.
The exclusive task of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office will be to investigate and prosecute — and, where relevant, bring to judgment in the Member States’ courts — crimes affecting the EU budget. The European Public Prosecutor’s Office will be an independent institution, subject to democratic oversight.
The Commission also presented proposals (42) to reform Eurojust, the European Union’s judicial cooperation unit.
Currently, there is a very uneven level of protection and enforcement across the EU when it comes to tackling fraud against the Union’s budget. The European Public Prosecutor’s Office will ensure that protecting the EU budget is given proper priority throughout Europe. It will bridge the gap between Member States’ criminal systems, the competences of which stop at national borders, and Union bodies that cannot conduct criminal investigations.
The Commission proposed to set up the European Public Prosecutor’s Office as a decentralised structure, integrated into national judicial systems. Delegated European prosecutors would carry out the investigations and prosecutions in the respective Member State, using national staff and applying national law. Their actions would be coordinated by the European public prosecutor to ensure a uniform approach through- out the EU.
Following a thorough analysis of the reasoned opinions received from 14 national parliamentary chambers in 11 Member States on the basis of the principle of sub- sidiarity, the Commission in November confirmed that its proposal complies with the principle of subsidiarity as enshrined in the EU treaties and decided to maintain it.
Viviane Reding, Commission Vice-President responsible for Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship, and Algirdas Šemeta, Commissioner for Taxation, Customs, Statistics, Audit and Anti-Fraud, at a joint press conference in Brussels, Belgium, to present the proposal for establishing a European Public Prosecutor’s Office.