Inside Police Custody 2 of the criminal process. Where suspects do have access to a lawyer, the research discloses significant concern in most countries about their quality and competence, particularly in respect of legal aid or ex officio lawyers. Many duty lawyer or ex officio schemes do not guarantee that a competent lawyer is available and willing to attend the police station at short notice, and even where a lawyer does attend, the facilities for private consultation are often inadequate or non-existent. A number of recommendations, directed at the European Commission and pan-European institutions and organisations, are prompted by the research findings. A full list is provided at the end of the Comparative Report, and recommendations directed at national governments and organisations are set out in the country reports (see Appendices). General • Appropriate action should be taken by the European Commission to ensure that the Directives are faithfully and completely transposed into national laws, regulations and processes in all member states. • The European Commission should enter into discussions with the governments of Bulgaria and Romania regarding the point at which, and the circumstances in which, the Directives are regarded as being applicable. • If further procedural rights Directives are adopted, consideration should be given to including a requirement that member states report on transposition of the Directive, indicating the action taken, and the consequent national position, in respect of each Article. • Given the importance of empirical, observational, research in establishing how the standards set out in the Directives work in practice in member states, the European Commission should enter into discussions with national governments with a view to encouraging and facilitating empirical research in respect of procedural rights. • The European Commission should actively consider whether to propose a European Union standard regarding the electronic recording of interrogations, and of the process by which suspected and accused person who are detained are informed of their procedural rights, in order to enhance transparency and accountability. Right to interpretation and translation • The European Commission should consider ways of encouraging and facilitating consideration within, and between, member states of appropriate guidance on workable mechanisms for assessing, and the relevant criteria for determining, the need for interpretation. • The European Commission should discuss, with both the relevant professional bodies and commercial providers, the question of making remote interpretation available, especially for the purposes of conveying the information required at the early stages of detention. • The European Commission should: (a) discuss with member states that have not introduced a national registration system for interpreters and translators their plans for introducing such a scheme; (b) consider, together with the appropriate professional bodies, the competence requirements that should be applied to such schemes; and (c) encourage member states to adopt commercially realistic rates of remuneration for interpreters and translators. • Given the difficulties in some countries of accessing competent interpreters, especially those who can interpret less frequently encountered languages, the European Commission should consider, together with the relevant professional bodies, what action can be taken to ensure the availability of such interpretation. 6