Adding gender-based violence to the list of crimes in Article 83(1) TFEU
In “A New Push for European Democracy”
Despite the extent of gender-based violence (GBV) and the harm it causes, the European Union (EU) does not currently have a specific legal instrument to address it and the Member States have different approaches to criminalisation. This means that legal definitions and the level of protection for victims vary across the EU.
The European Parliament has consistently taken a strong stance on the issue of violence against women. In 2014, Parliament already called for a unanimous Council decision adding gender-based violence to the list of particularly serious crimes set out in Article 83(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), so as to establish a stronger legal basis for a comprehensive EU directive establishing common legal definitions of GBV and common minimum rules for sanctions. Article 83(1) TFEU provides for the list to be extended to new areas of crime that have a 'cross-border dimension resulting from the nature or impact of the offences or from a special need to combat them on a common basis'. The procedure for extending the list of crimes requires a unanimous Council decision and Parliament's consent.
On 16 September 2021, Parliament adopted a new legislative-initiative resolution with recommendations to the European Commission on adding gender-based violence to the list of serious crimes in Article 83(1) TFEU, alongside the existing crimes such as corruption, organised crime and illegal drug trafficking that need to be combated on a common basis. The resolution is based on a legislative initiative report drafted jointly by Parliament's Committees on Women's Rights and Gender Equality (FEMM) and Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) under Rule 58 of the Rules of Procedure. A European added-value assessment for the Committees finds that GBV meets the necessary criteria and that this policy option would lead to more harmonised cross-border protection and more effective combating of GBV, particularly if it were accompanied by other, non-legislative measures.
Parliament's legislative initiative resolution calls on the Commission to use the new area of crime under Article 83(1) as a legal basis for a holistic, victim-centered, intersectional EU directive to prevent and combat all forms of gender-based violence, both online and offline, implementing the standards set out in the Istanbul Convention. It also identifies specific elements Parliament would like to see included in the directive.
Parliament's resolution was adopted in advance of the European Commission's December 2021 proposal to add hate crime and hate speech to the areas of crime listed in Article 83(1), which would serve as a basis for criminalising some specific forms of serious online and offline violence against women and girls that can also be defined as misogynous hate speech or hate crime with an identifiable gendered bias motive. The Commission has stated that this initiative, together with its proposal for a directive to combat violence against women and domestic violence, adopted on 8 March 2022, aim to address the European Parliament’s request. According to the Vice-President of the Commission for values and transparency, Věra Jourová, these two initiatives would 'to a very large extent' allow the fulfillment of the objectives pursued in the Parliament's resolution.
In an Opinion on combatting violence against women, adopted on 13 July 2022, the European Economic and Social Committee considers considers that violence against women should be included in the list of EU crimes in Article 83(1) of the TFEU.
References:
- European Parliament, Resolution of 16 September 2021 with recommendations to the Commission on identifying gender-based violence as a new area of crime listed in Article 83(1) TFEU, 2021/2035(INL)
- European Parliament, European Added Value Assessment (EAVA) - Gender-based violence as a new area of crime listed in Article 83(1) TFEU, June 2021
- European Parliament, Resolution of 25 February 2014 with recommendations to the Commission on combating Violence against Women, 2013/2004(INL)
- European Commission, Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council: A more inclusive and protective Europe: extending the list of EU crimes to hate speech and hate crime, (COM(2021) 777 final), 9 December 2021
- European Commission, Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on combating violence against women and domestic violence, COM(2022) 105 final, 2022/0066 (COD), 8 March 2022
- European Commission, Commission response to a European Parliament resolution pursuant to Article 225 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (SP(2021)759), in the minutes of the College meeting of 8 December 2021, pp. 49-50
- EESC, Opinion: Combatting violence against women, 13 July 2022
Further reading
- European Parliament, Make gender-based violence a crime under EU law, MEPs say, Press release, 16 September 2021
- EPRS, Adding gender-based violence to the list of serious crimes in Article 83(1) TFEU, Plenary At a glance briefing, September 2021
- EPRS, Violence against women and domestic violence: The new Commission proposal in light of European Parliament requests, Study, 27 June 202
Related carriages
Combating gender-based violence
Extending list of EU crimes to hate crime and hate speech
Author: Ionel Zamfir; Members' Research Service, legislative-train@europarl.europa.eu
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