Mr President, Mrs Diamantopoulou, ladies and gentlemen, first of all, I would like to thank everyone who has worked on this report, that is to say, all collaborators, but also the people from the Committee on Women’s Rights and Equal Opportunities and the interpreters, who have worked very hard. This report is also a reaction to the excellent communication by the Committee on new measures to fight trafficking in women. By way of preparing for the report, the Committee on Women’s Rights and Equal Opportunities organised a public hearing which involved experts and the presence of a victim who came to give her story. A delegation of this committee, together with Mrs Diamantopoulou, visited a shelter for victims of trafficking in people. Moreover, the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Member States and candidate countries received a questionnaire on how they tackle trafficking in women, the results of which will be made available to the European Commission. The report primarily aims to fight trafficking in women, but also in children and men, that is to say in people in general. Trafficking in children does exist, but they are used as adults. Men, too, are victims of trafficking in people and are sexually abused. In fact, the sex industry is not the only market on which the victims of such trafficking are sold. In Belgium, 40 percent of the victims end up on the labour market, in the textile, hotel and catering and fruit-picking industries, bakeries and the construction industry, or as house staff or au-pair girls, obliged to work as slaves in degrading conditions. Victims are also recruited for the marriage market, as well as to sports clubs and football clubs. According to estimates by the United Nations and the International Organisation for Migration, the IOM, every year four million people throughout the world fall victim to trafficking, 500 000 of whom end up in Europe. All the signs are there that the number of victims is rising and that the influx from Central and Eastern European countries has exceeded the existing stream from Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean and Asia. In a report by the United Nations, it is stressed that trafficking in people is one of the fastest growing forms of organised crime. The huge profits and relative safety for the perpetrators who generate this type of crime will undoubtedly have something to do with this. The penalties for smuggling narcotics, for example, are far higher than those for trafficking in women. Victims are often unable to speak out on account of the illegal situation they are in. Since there are clear indications that these problems are developing within the framework of international networks, it is important that these problems are addressed and tackled at European level. In order to tackle trafficking in people adequately, we first of all need a clear definition of trafficking in people. Priority must also be given to the fight against organised networks which are not only involved in trafficking in people but which are also involved in all kinds of other criminal activity, such as the trade in narcotics, arms and such like. I therefore applaud the new Community initiatives concerning money laundering where the income from trafficking in women plays a major role. Various initiatives have already been taken at European level. Efforts to increase public awareness have got off to a good start in the form of activities on the part of Interpol and Europol, initiatives in every individual Member State, Habitat projects, etc. However, the harmonisation of the different national legislations in this field and the ensuing discrepancies in methods of investigation and prosecution have to be tackled at European level as a matter of priority. From a survey organised in connection with this report, it is quite clear that there are considerable discrepancies in this sphere between the Member States and between one candidate country and another. Some countries which have strict legislation on prostitution do not even have any legislation at all on trafficking in people. By introducing the STOP programme, Europe is striking while the iron is hot, and opportunities for collaboration have opened up. Last year, the Council adopted the DAPHNE programme. This is a new policy tool intended to prevent all kinds of violence – physical, sexual and psychological – against women and children. It is encouraging that, in the first half of this year, the Commission wishes to submit detailed proposals for harmonising criminal legislation in the Member States on trafficking in people with a view to their sexual exploitation and, specifically, proposals for granting temporary residence permits to victims who are prepared to cooperate in the investigations which are necessary if legal action is to be taken against the traffickers. Scanning the amendments, I have the impression that some people want to hijack this report, which is about victims of trafficking in people, to start a debate on prostitution. In the Committee on Women’s Rights and Equal Opportunities, a clear decision was made to discuss trafficking in women, or forced prostitution, within the framework of this report. A debate on whether or not to ban or legalise prostitution may be pressing, but cannot be held at this point in the interest of the victims of trafficking in people. As I said, trafficking in people is not just about the problem of demand for prostitution. Victims of trafficking in women also find it extremely difficult to re-integrate into their place of origin and even within their own families. Once they have, as victims, worked in prostitution, they are labelled prostitutes for the rest of their lives or, as the saying goes, once a prostitute, always a prostitute. The initiatives which have been taken are the first step towards a solution but the number of victims continues to grow. A great deal therefore remains to be done. We have submitted proposals on prevention, reception of victims and legislation. A society faced with such a phenomenon has a moral duty towards the victims and must give a high priority to the fight against trafficking in people and to victim support.

Political group: Verts-ALE