EU launches infringement against three member states over fair trial rights

FILE PHOTO: European Union flags fly outside the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium September 19, 2019. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission on Thursday said it had opened an infringement procedure against Belgium, Bulgaria and Croatia for failing to correctly adopt EU directives for fair trial rights in criminal proceedings.

The infringement concerns a failure to correctly transpose the directive on the strengthening of the presumption of innocence and the right to be present at the trial in criminal proceedings, the commission said.