Member states will have two years to turn the new support and reporting rules into national law
The European Union gave final approval on 8 June 2026 to a revised victims’ rights law that will require stronger support for people affected by crime, including a common 116 006 helpline, easier digital reporting and tighter safeguards for children and personal data.
The Council’s final green light updates the EU’s 2012 framework on the rights, support and protection of victims of crime. The directive is expected to be published in the Official Journal in July 2026 and enter into force 20 days later. EU countries will then have 24 months to transpose it into national law.
The measure is significant because victim support remains uneven across the bloc. The European Commission estimates that 70 to 75 million people in the EU become victims of crime each year, while only 14 countries have so far set up the 116 006 victim-support number.
A single number for support
Under the new rules, victims across the EU should be able to use 116 006 to receive information about their rights, emotional support and guidance on available services. Existing national helplines may continue to operate, but the EU-wide number is intended to make access clearer for residents, travellers, students and workers who may face crime outside their home country.
Costas Fytiris, Cyprus’s justice and public order minister, said the new law sends a message that victims deserve effective support. “No one should have to face the aftermath of crime alone,” he said.
The directive also requires member states to make reporting easier when it is in the victim’s interest. That includes accessible digital tools, online reporting and the possibility of submitting evidence electronically. Supporters argue this could matter especially for people who fear intimidation, face mobility barriers or are unsure how to approach authorities in another EU country.
Children, legal aid and compensation
The revised law gives particular attention to children. They are to receive child-friendly support services, age-appropriate protection measures, psychological help and the possibility of recorded interviews, reducing the need to repeat traumatic testimony.
Victims who participate in criminal proceedings and cannot afford a lawyer should have access to legal aid. The directive also strengthens compensation rules: where a court has awarded compensation and the offender does not pay within a reasonable time, member states may, under certain conditions, advance payment to victims of violent intentional crime and later recover the amount from the offender.
The Commission’s broader victims’ rights framework says victims need recognition, protection from further harm, support, access to justice and compensation. The revised directive tries to make those principles more practical, particularly in cross-border situations where victims can struggle to understand procedures or find help quickly.
Implementation will decide its impact
The law’s adoption does not immediately change national systems. Its effect will depend on how member states fund helplines, train police and prosecutors, protect vulnerable victims and connect support services with courts, hospitals and civil-society organisations.
That implementation test is central to the EU’s wider rights agenda. As The European Times has reported in its coverage of human rights violations in Europe, legal protections can be strong on paper while access to justice remains slow, fragmented or difficult for people with limited resources.
For victims of crime, the new directive is therefore both a legal update and a practical promise. Brussels has now set the baseline. The next question is whether every member state can make support visible, reachable and reliable before the two-year deadline expires.
