2 Amendments of Panayiotis DEMETRIOU related to 2008/2125(INI)
Amendment 4 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 – point g
Paragraph 1 – point g
(g) enhancing and providing, without delay, tools and financial support for improving the taking of evidence in other Member States such as video- conferencing;
Amendment 7 #
Draft opinion
Annex – point 7
Annex – point 7
7. (Videoconferencing) The use of videoconferences in the context of criminal proceedings in certain Member States is quite common. It allows gathering evidence by taking the statements of accused persons, witnesses or experts in their physical absence at the same time allowing providing adequate protection to those needing protection. The 2000 European Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters provides for rules on the hearing of witnesses, accused persons and experts by videoconference. It has now been ratified by 24 Member States. The European Parliament calls on Member States to complete the ratification process as soon as possible. No statistics are yet available on the practical application of videoconferences. Still it seems that videoconferencing is not fully exploited, one of the reasons being the lack of the necessary electronic support. This supportSupport and financial assistance by the EU must be delivered as soon as possible.