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Proposal for a revision of the combating child sexual abuse Directive (2011/93/EU)

In “Promoting our European Way of Life”

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Combating child sexual abuse, both offline and online, remains among the main priorities on the current EU agenda, and it is one of the objectives of the EU Security Union strategy for 2020-2025.

In July 2020, the European Commission adopted the EU strategy for a more effective fight against child sexual abuse for 2020-2025, setting out eight initiatives aimed at fully implementing and developing the EU legal framework, identifying remaining gaps, strengthening the law enforcement response, enhancing prevention, involving industry and supporting international multi-stakeholder cooperation. 

Under the strategy, the Commission announced a series of measures, including new legislation requiring online communication services (i.e. instant messaging platforms and applications) to detect, report and remove child sexual abuse material and an assessment of the implementation of Directive 2011/93/EU, a EU key instrument in the field.

In 2021, the Commission launched REFIT initiative to assess the implementation of Directive 2011/93/EU and identify legislative gaps, best practice and priority actions at EU level, with a view to possibly preparing a proposal to review the Directive. Citizens and stakeholders were asked to provide their views and input during the public consultation period from 20 April 2022 to 13 July 2022.

Moreover, the revision of the directive was one of the key new initiatives for 2023, as listed in Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's State of the Union 2022 letter of intent and in the Commission's work programme for 2023. The joint legislative priorities for 2023-2024, agreed upon by the Parliament, the Council and the Commission, included both revising the directive and submitting a proposal for a regulation laying down rules to prevent and combat child sexual abuse online.

On 6 February 2024, the Commission published its proposal to revise Directive 2011/93/EU on 
combating the sexual abuse and exploitation of children. The revised rules expand the definitions of offences and introduce higher penalties and more specific requirements for prevention and assistance to victims.

In Parliament, the file was assigned to the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE), with the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality (FEMM) as associated committee under Rule 57. Jeroen Lenaers (EPP, Netherlands) was appointed as rapporteur for LIBE.

The draft report was published on 16 April 2024 and presented in the Committee LIBE on 18 April. The report welcomes the proposed recast of Directive 2011/93, in particular the much-needed expansion and clarification of the definition of child sexual abuse material, to include AI-generated images and instruction manuals on how to sexually abuse children.  A total of 51 amendments were drafted. The draft report, proposes, among other

  • to further increase the statutes of limitations for child abuse proposed by the Commission  for the different categories of offences falling under the revised Directive
  • to expand the recruitment requirement for organisations acting against child sexual abuse to request for candidate employees information on possible convictions for offences under the revised Directive, to include volunteers.

In the Council, the proposal was dealt with in the Working Party on Judicial Cooperation in Criminal Matters (COPEN) and at the Justice and Home Affairs Council on 14 June. To support the Council expert level discussions ministers gave guidance to the future work at expert level on two matters: firstly the limitation period for child sexual abuse offences and if they should require specific consideration to ensure that they can be prosecuted also a relatively long time after the offence was committed and secondly how to address AI-generated child sexual abuse material. 

Commissioner Ylva Johansson presented the Commission proposal on 4 September in the newly established LIBE committee. 

On 10 July 2024, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) adopted an opinion on 
the proposed revision of Directive 2011/93, in which it expressed its support for the proposal's 
objective to ensure that all forms of sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children, including those enabled or facilitated by technological developments, are criminalised. 

The subsidiarity deadline for national parliaments to submit their reasoned opinions was 28 May 2024. 19 national chambers examined the proposal by that date, none of which issued a reasoned opinion.

See also our files ‘EU Strategy for a more effective fight against child sexual abuse’; 'e-Privacy Directive: Derogation to combat child sexual abuse online'; 'Combating child sexual abuse online: new legislation" and 'Strengthening of Europol's mandate' in the same train.

References:

Further reading:

Related files in the same train:

  • Legislative train on the EU Strategy for a more effective fight against child sexual abuse for the period 2020-2025.
  • Legislative train on the Proposal for a Regulation on a temporary derogation from certain provisions of the e-Privacy Directive for the purpose of combating child sexual abuse online (e-Privacy Directive: Derogation to combat child sexual abuse)
  • Legislative train on New legislation to fight child sexual abuse online (Combating child sexual abuse online)
  • Legislative train on the strengthening of Europol's mandate

Author: Ingeborg Odink, Members' Research Service, legislative-train@europarl.europa.eu

As of 20/09/2024.