As prosecutors and investigative judges are often best placed to identify and solve victims’ rights issues in a cross-border context, Eurojust is committed to systematically ensuring that the victims’ rights dimension is considered early on and in its own right, and that the Agency is integral to the support it provides to national judicial authorities. Therefore, Eurojust can and must play a pivotal role in minimising the risks associated with the cross-border dimension of cases, by ensuring timely and efficient coordination between the various countries and actors involved to preserve victims’ rights. Eurojust is uniquely positioned to facilitate information exchange on victims to identify, rescue and protect them. In particular, Eurojust is able to help prevent and solve conflicts of jurisdiction, and find concrete solutions for victims across the European Union, such as the right to compensation.

The interests of victims represent one of the key factors that Eurojust considers when assisting prosecution strategies during coordination meetings and advising EU Member States, in case of parallel or linked proceedings, conflicting EAWs or extradition requests, as reflected in the relevant Eurojust guidelines. For example, in the Eurojust Guidelines on How to Prosecute Investment Fraud, published in July 2021, the Agency highlights the support it can provide to Member States in managing a large number of victims from around the world, by helping to categorise them (as far as legally possible) and centralise proceedings at national and international levels.

The recently published Report on Victims’ Rights captures the broad experience Eurojust has gained over the years and offers an overview of best practices to overcome victim-related challenges in various EU priority crime areas. Eurojust’s casework indicates that a greater focus on victims leads to greater success in the prosecution of trafficking in human beings and counter-terrorism cases in particular.

Therefore, Eurojust and the European Judicial Network are active members of the Victims’ Rights Platform, a key component of the EU Strategy on Victims' Rights (2020-2015). Together with other agencies and networks, work is ongoing on a joint report on improving cooperation between the competent authorities in cross-border cases to secure victims’ rights, to be published in 2022.