The European Parliament adopted the directive which sets out minimum penalties for about 20 criminal offences. The directive approved tougher penalties across the EU, especially in cases of abuse by persons in a position of trust, authority or influence over the child or abuse of particularly vulnerable children. The directive will also require EU countries to remove child porn web sites and it will introduce EU-wide requirements on prevention, prosecution of offenders and protection for victims.

MEPs approved the agreement between Parliament and Council which sets up minimum penalties for cases of abuse by persons in a position of trust, authority or influence over the child or abuse of particularly vulnerable children. This means about 20 criminal offences - far more than are usually provided for in EU legislation. In addition, they introduced tougher penalties - for instance, coercing a child into sexual actions or forcing a child into prostitution will be punishable by at least ten years in prison-, and EU-wide requirements on prevention, prosecution of offenders and protection for victims.

On the other hand, the new directive will require EU countries to remove child porn web sites, or, should this prove impossible, allow them to block access to those pages within their territory. Moreover, on-line "grooming" (befriending children via the web with the intention of sexually abusing them) will also become a criminal offence across the EU, as will child sex tourism, where the offence is committed on a Member State's territory or by one of its nationals abroad.

The directive also stipulates that convicted offenders may be temporarily or permanently prevented from exercising at least professional activities involving direct and regular contacts with children. Employers when recruiting will be entitled to request information on convictions for sexual offences against children. Member States will also be entitled to take other measures, such as listing convicted persons in sex offender registers.