Commission working document - Evaluation and monitoring of the implementation of the EU Plan on best practices, standards and procedures for combating and preventing trafficking in human beings
Date: 2008-10-17
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU policy, cooperation policy, exchange of information, help for victims, human rights, judicial cooperation, police cooperation, trafficking in human beings

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COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 17.10.2008 
COM(2008) 657 final 

COMMISSION WORKING DOCUMENT 

Evaluation and monitoring of the implementation of the EU Plan on best practices, 
standards and procedures for combating and preventing trafficking in human beings 

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COMMISSION WORKING DOCUMENT 

Evaluation and monitoring of the implementation of the EU Plan on best practices, 
standards and procedures for combating and preventing trafficking in human beings 

This  paper  responds  to  the  request  from  the  Council  contained  in  the  Council  conclusions 
adopted  by  the  JHA  Council  on  8-9  November  2007,  which  called  for  the  Commission  to 
issue of an "evaluation and monitoring report of the EU Plan1, with a view to ensuring that 
action against human trafficking will continue in 2008". In December 2007, the Commission 
circulated  a  questionnaire  to  Member  States  asking  for  updated  information  on  the 
for 
implementation  of  national  anti-trafficking  policies.  Other  bodies 
implementing some of the actions provided for by the Action Plan were also consulted.  

responsible 

This  paper  gives  an  overview  of  anti-trafficking  measures  in  the  EU  area  and  Norway.  The 
first  section  examines  the  state  of  play  of  anti-trafficking  policy  in  the  Member  States;  the 
second  section  looks  at  the  implementation  of  actions  by  EU  bodies;  the  third  puts  forward 
indications for the continuation of anti-trafficking measures.  

1. 

THE  STATE  OF  PLAY  OF  ANTI-TRAFFICKING  POLICY  IN  THE  EU  MEMBER  STATES 
AND NORWAY 

The  following  is  an  analysis  of  the  replies  to  the  Questionnaire  circulated  by  the 
Commission. 23 EU Member States and Norway provided answers.2 

1.1. 

National legislation 

Trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation has been targeted since 1997. All 
EU  countries  have  now  recognised  this  form  of  trafficking  as  a  specific  criminal 
offence, different from exploitation of prostitution, and punished more severely.  

Approximation  of  legislation  is  also  underway  in  the  field  of  trafficking  for  labour 
exploitation,  which  consists  of  the  recruitment  and  transfer  of  people  and  their 
subsequent exploitation in coercive or inhuman conditions.  

Legislation  on  victims'  support  hasalso  been  introduced  in  a  number  of  countries. 
However,  the  protection  of  victims  from  prosecution  or  criminal  sanctions  for 
offences committed as a consequence of their situation as trafficked persons appears 
to  be  insufficient.  In  addition,  the  lack  of  victims'  assistance  schemes  indicates  the 
need for more effective regulation (see section 1.4.).  

1.2. 

Prevention 

Many  countries  have  undertaken  actions  targeting  prevention,  some  in  cooperation 
with  NGOs  -  information  and  awareness  raising  campaigns,  and  training  for  law 

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EU Plan on best practices, standards and procedures for combating and preventing trafficking in human 
beings, OJ C 311, 9.12.2005. 
All the figures included in the replies are contained in Annex. With a few exceptions, namely Sweden 
and  Belgium,  the  figures  are  not  gender-sensitive.  Many  countries  do  not  dispose  of  disaggregated 
figures  for  children.  It  is  not  always  clear  if  the  requested  figures  are  not  available  or  if  there  are  no 
cases. 

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enforcement  agencies,  in  particular  Instruments  used  on  a  lesser  scale  seem  to  be 
radio  and  TV  broadcast.  Much  less  has  been  done  in  the  countries  of  origin  of 
victims.  Long-term  preventive  measures  are  still  insufficient,  especially  measures 
aimed at promoting gender equality.  

1.3. 

Investigation and Prosecution 

In 2006,  the highest  figures  concerning investigation and prosecution of trafficking 
for  the  purpose  of  sexual  exploitation  were  recorded  in  AT  (128),  BE  (291),  BG 
(291),  DE  (353),  IT  (214),  PT  (65),  and  UK  (54).  The  total  number  of  cases 
investigated  in  the  EU  was  195  in  2001,  453  in  2003,  1.060  in  2005,  and  1.569  in 
2006.3 Despite the upward trend, the number of criminal proceedings is still not high 
enough to reflect the presumed scale of the crime, especially given the fact that about 
500.000  people  might  be  trafficked  to  Europe  every  year  according  to  IOM 
estimates. In 2006, 180 cases were recorded of this offence being committed against 
children.4  As  regards  trafficking  for  labour  exploitation,  the  legislative  framework 
has  been  recently  completed,  and  thus  implementation  is  even  less  advanced.  The 
conclusion  has  to  be  that  ,  trafficking  in  human  beings  is  still  a  low-risk  crime 
concerning both trafficking for sexual and labour exploitation 

Many  countries  have  bilateral  agreements  for  the  exchange  of  investigative 
information and police cooperation in general. Joint investigation teams are a rarity.. 
However,  other  forms  of  police  cooperation  have  recently  been  put  in  place  in  a 
number  of  countries  (CY,  HU,  IT,  LV,  LT,  NL,  SI,  SE,  UK),  including  through 
Europol and Interpol.  

Information  concerning  victim  police  protection  is  not  satisfactory.  Generally 
speaking, Member States say that victim protection programmes exist, and victims of 
trafficking have access to such programmes. However, veryfew countries are able to 
give the number of victims who have received protection, which is very low (FI 5, 
LV 1, PL 11). One particular, and positive, case is Italy, where all victims who were 
placed in the social integration programmes (2,039 in 2005 and 2,143 in 2006) also 
received police protection.  

Replies  regarding  compensation  show  that  there  is  also  a  gap  in  this  field  between 
legislation  and  enforcement.  While  the  right  to  compensation  is  ensured  by 
legislative measures, and many countries even have a public fund for compensation 
(AT, BE, BG, CZ, DK, FI, FR, HU, LV, LU, MT, NL, PT, SK, SE, UK), the only 
available figures show that the number of victims of trafficking who have received 
compensation is very low (DK 1, FR 5, NL 18, UK 4, NO 2).  

1.4. 

Victim support 

The  majority  of  countries  have  adopted  legislative  measures  in  the  field  of 
victimsupport.  In  particular,  all  Member  States  (except  for  ES  and  LU)  have 
communicated  full  transposition  of  the  Directive  2004/81/EC  on  residence  permit 
issued  to  victims  of  trafficking.5  National  legislation  now  provides  for  a  reflection 

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5 

In some countries the figures include trafficking for labour exploitation. It is possible that a number of 
cases of trafficking for sexual exploitation are still prosecuted as cases of exploitation of prostitution, 
due to the difficulty of gathering evidence.  
These figures are certainly underestimated as many countries do not dispose of disaggregated data for 
children. 
OJ L 261, 6.8.2004. DK, IE and UK are not bound by it. 

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period  in  accordance  with  the  Directive.  Italy  has  a  system  which  allows  victims 
direct access to a residence permit. The duration of the reflection period ranges from 
30 days to 6 months. However, only five countries dispose of relevant figures. The 
total number in 2006-2007 was 56, of which 30 cases were in Norway. Even taking 
into account the high number of figures of victims who directly received a residence 
permit  in  Italy  and  the  estimated  number  of  people  who  were  granted  a  reflection 
period between 2003 and 2006 in the UK (155), the reflection period still seems to 
remain to be implemented in most countries.6 This may well imply that the majority 
of  identified  victims  are  immediately  deported,  which  is  inconsistent  with  human 
rights standards, implies that an important source of evidence is lost, and constitutes 
a clear breach of the Directive. 

Where the granting of residence permits is concerned, all countries except DK, LU, 
PL and UK provide for such a permit for victims of trafficking The duration ranges 
from 40 days (SK) to 1 year (NL, SI, ES, PT, NO). In most countries the duration is 
6  months  (AT,  CY,  CZ,  FI,  FR,  PL,  SE,  IT)  and  is  renewable  for  various  periods, 
usually depending on the personal situation of the victim. In all countries except PL 
victims have access to the labour market during the validity of the residence permit, 
in conformity with the Directive.  

Figures  concerning  assisted  victims  are  still  inadequate.  The  vastmajority  of 
countries  do  not  even  dispose  of  figures.  The  exact  numbers  of  victims  who  have 
received support in recent years have only been provided by AT (162), BE (121), BG 
(81),  CZ  (14),  FI  (9)  IT  (2.143),  LT  (96),  PL  (10),  SL  (40),  and  NO  (37).  A  few 
countries have taken measures that can be considered to be a real response; but at EU 
level the situation is still largely unsatisfactory. On the other hand, in countries such 
as  AT,  BE,  IT,  BG,  and  UK,  which  have  a  significant  number  of  assisted  victims, 
figures  on  criminal  proceedings  are  also  higher  (see  1.3).  Therefore,  further 
regulation  might  be  necessary  in  order  to  ensure  more  effective  victim  support 
mechanisms. 

1.5. 

Safe and assisted return 

Only  a  few  countries  are  able  to  give  figures  on  assisted  return  of  victims.  Some 
countries (BE, CZ, DK, FR, IT, NL, SI, SE, UK, NO) have funded different kinds of 
programmes aimed at promoting the social integration of victims in their countries of 
origin. In many countries risk assessment by law enforcement agencies before return 
is not regulated, or have very limited implementation (BE 3, CZ 6, SI 2).  

1.6. 

National coordinating mechanisms 

National  coordination  is  managed  differently  in  each  country.  In  most  countries  an 
inter-agency  coordinating  body  has  been  appointed,  and  therefore  a  multi-
disciplinary  approach  is  normally  ensured  at  government  level.  However,  the 
national machinery still seems to be inadequate as far as monitoring mechanisms are 
concerned.  Two  countries  (NL  and  SE)  have  appointed  National  Rapporteurs  and 
eight  indicate  the  appointment  of  comparable  mechanisms  (BE,  BG,  CY,  CZ,  DK, 

6 

Lack of substantial implementation seems not only to concern countries where the relevant legislation 
has  only  recently  been  passed  (CY,  FR,  DK,  DE,  HU,  LV,  MT,  PT),  but  also  countries  where 
legislation has been in force for some years. It shall be recalled that this section only constitutes a first 
preliminary  assessment  based  on  questionnaires  filled  in  by  Member  States.  A  study  on  the 
implementation of a group of ten Directives including Directive 2004/81/EC will be finalised soon, and 
a more in-depth assessment will be subsequently carried out.  

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FI, PT, UK). This situation might have a negative impact on the quality of the data 
collected. 

1.7. 

Conclusions 

The past years have witnessed a dynamic process of approximation of legislation 
in  the  Member  States,  in  the  field  of  both  criminal  law  and  victim  assistance. 
However, the figures available indicate a serious gap between the legislation in 
force  and  actual  implementation.  Figures  concerning  criminal  proceedings  are 
still  not  high  enough.  In  the  field  of  victim  assistance  and  protection,  in 
particular, a critical lack of effective implementation must be underlined.  

On the other hand, figures show that in countries where there are a significant 
number  of  assisted  victims,  statistics  on  criminal  proceedings  are  higher.  This 
implies  that  a  human  rights-centred  approach  is  needed  not  only  to  protect 
victims' rights but also in the interest of justice. The Commission is considering 
revising  the  Framework  Decision  on  trafficking,  also  with  a  view  to  ensuring 
more effective victims' support mechanisms.  

The trend towards more international law enforcement and judicial cooperation 
is  positive,  although  substantial  improvement  is  still  needed.  Weak  points  still 
remain  victims'  police  protection,  compensation,  and  police  risk  assessment 
before return.  

Member  States  now  dispose  of  government  coordination  mechanisms,  while 
monitoring systems still need to be established or improved. 

2. 

THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE EU ACTION PLAN 

This  section  follows  the  structure  of  the  EU  Action  Plan,  and  analyses  the 
implementation of measures relating to each objective by EU bodies. 

2.1. 

Coordination of EU action 

2.1.1.  To establish common priorities and improve the effectiveness of EU action  

Concerning the sharing of information about priority origin and transit countries, in 
October 2006 Europol sent an intelligence collection plan and subsequently produced 
a strategic report. 

European  funding  is  a  major  tool  for  promoting  the  effectiveness  of  EU  action. 
Trafficking  in  human  beings  has  been  a  priority  inthe  "Prevention  of  and  fight 
against crime" programme (ISEC) for 2007 and 2008. Nine proposals directly related 
to trafficking were selected for funding in 2007, and another three concerned related 
issues. The total amount of allocated funds was EUR 3.102.484,78.  

In addition, two studies have been funded and these will be available  in  2009. The 
first aims to analyse the relation between legislation on prostitution and trafficking. 
The  second  concerns  an  assessment  of  the  extent  of  different  types  of  trafficking 
including for labour exploitation, begging and organ removal. Following a European 

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Parliament  recommendation.7  another  study  has  been  launched  with  a  view  to 
assessing  the  feasibility  of  a  European  helpline.  The  European  Parliament  has 
earmarked 2 Million euro within the ISEC programme to cover the costs  of such a 
Hotline.  The  Assessment  Manual  "Measuring  Responses  to  Trafficking  in  Human 
Beings  in  the  European  Union"  is  the  result  of  a  study  also  funded  by  the 
Commission in 2007 

2.1.2.  To ensure an ongoing debate on the subject, including the human rights issues 

EU  Anti-Trafficking  Day  has  been  set  as  on  18  October  each  year.  The  Day  is  an 
occasion  for  awareness  raising  and  networking  for  all  organisations  active  in  the 
prevention  and  fight  against  trafficking.  The  first  Anti-trafficking  day  in  2007 
focused on a human rights-centred approach to anti-trafficking policy. 

2.1.3.  To ensure common standards across the EU 

On 24 July 2006 a Council Decision was adopted on the conclusion, on behalf of the 
European Community, of the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in 
Persons,  especially  Women  and  Children,  supplementing  the  United  Nations 
Convention Against Transnational Organised Crime.8 

As for the signature and ratification of the Council of Europe Convention on Action 
against Trafficking in Human Beings,9 so far 10 EU Member States (AT, BG, CY, 
DK, FR, LV, MT, PT, RO, SK) have ratified the Convention. 15 EU Member States 
(BE,  FI,  DE,  GR,  HU,  IE,  IT,  LT,  LU,  NL,  PL,  SI,  SE,  ES,  UK)  signed  the 
Convention.  

2.2. 

Scoping the problem 

2.2.1.  To improve the knowledge on the scale and nature of trafficking in human beings 

Various  initiatives  have  been  taken  to  establish  the  conditions  for  the  issuing  of 
Guidelines  on  data  collection.  In  particular,  a  sub-group  of  the  Experts  Group  on 
criminal statistics10 was set up to deal with crimes against persons. The Commission 
joined  forces  with  the  ILO  to  launch  the  DELPHI  method  of  establishing  agreed 
indicators for each type of trafficking. EUROSTAT will be involved at a later stage. 

Europol  is  currently  involved  in  two  initiatives:  an  ICMPD-led  project  focusing  on 
data collection in South-East Europe and a project led by the Austrian government in 
partnership with the IOM aimed at developing Guidelines for data collection.11 

The European Migration Network (EMN) launched an ad-hoc query among Member 
States and has developed a Common Research Template.12 

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16 November 2006, P6-TA(2006)0498 
OJ L 262, 22.9.2006.  
Made in Warsaw 2005, entered into force on 1/2/2008.  
2006/581/EC Commission Decision of 7 August 2006 setting up a group of experts on the policy needs 
for data on crime and criminal justice – OJ L 234, 29.8.2006. 
The outcome of the DELPHI exercise and the AT project will be taken into account by the Commission 
for the issuing of Guidelines on data collection.  
MIGRAPOL – European Migration network – Doc 142.  

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2.3. 

Preventing trafficking 

2.3.1.  To address the root causes of trafficking  

The  Commission  has  financed  a  wide  range  of  initiatives  aimed  at  addressing  the 
root causes of trafficking such as poverty, exclusion, social inequalities  and  gender 
discrimination.  It  also  funds  projects  directly  focusing  on  the  prevention  of 
trafficking  in  a  large  number  of  third  countries,  often  implemented  by  civil  society 
organizations.  In  addition,  the  Commission  has  financed  a  number  of  initiatives 
designed to improve the economic, legal and political position and promote the rights 
of  the  most  vulnerable  groups,  namely  children,  women,  migrants  and  indigenous 
people.  

2.3.2.  To prevent trafficking in countries of origin, transit and destination 

See previous paragraph.  

2.3.3.  To enable identification of victims early to prevent exploitation 

As  far  as  the  Visa  information  system  (VIS)  is  concerned,  VIS  is  scheduled  to  be 
available for operation from the end of May 2009. As regards victim identification, a 
seminar  was  held  in  Brussels  under  the  Austrian  Presidency  with  experts  from 
governments  and  NGOs  providing  services  for  victims  where  best  practices  in  the 
field  of  identification  and  support  for  victims  were  discussed.  The  Finnish 
Presidency  held  a  seminar  focused  on  child  identification.13  The  UK  Presidency 
organised a Strategic Meeting with Eurojust on the implementation of the EU action 
plan  by  prosecutors.  Another  strategic  meeting  was  co-organised  by  the  Slovenian 
Presidency and Eurojust on victim protection.  

2.4. 

Reducing Demand 

2.4.1.  To develop the expertise on reducing demand for labour exploitation 

After four years of productive work of the Experts Group on Trafficking in Human 
Beings,  a  new  Group  of  Experts  has  been  appointed  in  2008,14  including  specific 
expertise in the field of labour exploitation.  

2.4.2.  To reduce the demand for trafficked persons in destination countries 

Member  States  were  requested  by  the  Council  to  report  on  best  practice  on 
community engagement to deter trafficking.15 

2.5. 

Investigating and prosecuting 

2.5.1.  To improve the strategic and tactical intelligence picture  

Europol is cooperating on a regular basis with Interpol. In respect of the submission 
by the Member States of information and data to Europol, beside the contributions to 
the concerned Analytical Work File,16 there have been 127 MS contributions to the 

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The conclusions of the Finnish seminar on identification of children at risk can be found in document 
15024/06.  
Commission  Decision  of  17  October  2007  setting  up  the  Group  of  Experts  on  Trafficking  in  Human 
Beings, OJ L 277, 19.10.2007; Commission Decision of 22 July 2008 on the appointment of members 
of the Group of Experts on Trafficking in Human Beings, OJ L 194/12, 23.7.2008. 
Information is available in the document 6282/1/07. 
Analytical Work File (AWF) Phoenix was opened in June 2007 with a focus on trafficking. 2 MS have 
signalled  their  support  for  this  work  file  and  the  AWF  is  currently  supporting  a  number  of  diverse 
investigations.  

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Europol Information System (EIS) on trafficking cases since the Information System 
went live in April 2006.  

The  Organised  Crime  Threat  Assessment  (OCTA)  has  been  published  and 
disseminated to all MS twice, in 2006 and in 2007. Trafficking in human beings has 
been  identified  as  a  criminal  market  that  should  be  prioritised  and  attract  focused 
attention at EU level.  

Europol/Frontex  cooperation  has  been  focused  on  combating  facilitated  illegal 
immigration, but none of the related initiatives is directly related to trafficking. 

2.5.2.  To improve the ability of Member States to investigate trafficking effectively 

Following the proposal from the CEPOL Annual Programme Committee, in 2006 the 
Governing  Board  established  an  experts  working  group  which  issued  the  final 
version of a Module Description for senior officials training in June 2007.  

2.5.3.  To improve the operational cooperation between Member States on trafficking  

See Section 1.  

2.5.4.  To enable more effective cooperation in investigations and prosecutions  

As far as Europol is concerned, the 2008 and 2009 objectives of Europol’s competent 
Crimes against Person Unit are specifically linked to the EU plan.  

Regarding  the  role  of  Eurojust,  71  new  cases  of  trafficking  in  human  beings  have 
been  recorded  in  2007.  This  is  a  substantial  increase  on  the  32  new  cases  in  2006. 
Eurojust  also  held  10  coordination  meetings  in  2007  specifically  for  cases  dealing 
with  trafficking  and  smuggling,  which  makes  up  more  than  10%  of  Eurojust’s 
coordination meetings.  

Essential aspects regarding developments in the legal framework on trafficking in the 
Member  States  were  examined  in  section  1.  For  its  part,  the  Commission  is 
considering revising FD on combating trafficking in human beings.17  

2.6. 

Protecting and supporting victims of trafficking 

2.6.1.  To ensure frontline staff have the right tools and expertise to identify victims  

See section 2.3.3. 

2.6.2.  To build and strengthen effective links between organisations providing support and 

reintegration services and Member States  

A  questionnaire  was  disseminated  by  the  Finnish  Presidency,  in  an  effort  to  map 
services available to victims. A first list of coordinating bodies in the governments, 
and  a  list  of  service  providers  with  the  relevant  contact  points  are  now  available18. 
Agreement  was  reached  under  the  German  Presidency  to  publish  the  relevant  links 
on the JLS website.  

Victim identification and assistance was a priority for the Commission in 2007 and 
for  the  first  Anti-Trafficking  Day.  In  particular,  the  Commission  presented 
"Recommendations  on  the  identification  and  referral  to  services  of  victims  of 

17 
18 

OJ L 203, 1.8.2002.  
18 December 2007, 13124/07 REV 1– CRIMORG 139. 

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trafficking  in  human  beings",19  which  call  for  the  establishment  of  national 
mechanisms  based  on  cooperation  between  governments  and  civil  society 
organisations.  

2.7. 

Returns and reintegration 

2.7.1.  To share knowledge and experience about available reintegration schemes in source 

countries and risk assessment process carried out before return 

See Chapter 1.  

2.8. 

External relations 

2.8.1.  To enhance anti-trafficking action in relations with third countries. 

A  number  of  Country  Strategy  Papers  and  Regional  and  National  Indicative 
Programmes  have  included  direct  references  to  trafficking  and  to  strengthening 
strategies to address factors facilitating trafficking. The fight against trafficking and 
smuggling  constitutes  one  of 
the  priorities  of  several  bilateral  European 
Neighborhood Policy Action Plans of the EU, for example with Egypt, Ukraine and 
Moldova.  

The  EU  regularly  engages  with  third  countries  on  the  issue  of  trafficking  in  the 
course  of  its  bilateral  political  dialogue.  The  Commission  has  supported  local 
initiatives such as the Coordination Mekong Ministerial Initiative against Trafficking 
process (COMMIT) in South Asia, the implementation of National Anti-Trafficking 
Action  Plan  in  the  Western  Balkans,  as  well  as  supporting  the  South  African 
government's  efforts  against  trafficking.  At  the  level  of  the  African  Union,  the 
Commission  has  supported  the  Ouagadougou  Action  Plan  adopted  in  November 
2006. 

Under  the  TAIEX  instrument  a  number  of  actions  involve  cooperation  with  third 
countries. On this subject, TAIEX organised ten events in 2006 and 2007. 

The "Action Plan on Children's Rights in EU External Action" highlights the issue of 
child  trafficking  as  one  priority  area.  Under  the  thematic  programme  "Investing  in 
People"  a  call  for  proposal  has  been  launched  on  child  trafficking  and  children  in 
armed conflicts.  

2.9. 

Conclusions 

All  stakeholders  involved  in  the  implementation  of  the  EU  Action  Plan  have 
taken action and achieved some results. However, some measures have not yet 
been  implemented.  Moreover,  it  is  still  difficult  to  assess  the  real  impact  of 
actions  that  have  been  implemented  on  the  actual  development  of  anti-
trafficking policy.  

Although the Commission and the Council have been particularly active in the 
field of victim assistance and protection, the factual situation shows substantial 
weaknesses.  

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The  Recommendations 
on 
ec.europa.eu/justice_home/news/information_dossiers/anti_trafficking_day_07/documents_en.htm 

JLS  website 

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available 

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While  discussing  new  strategies  for  future  action,  implementation  at  national 
level plays a crucial role.  

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3. 

CONTINUATION OF THE EU’S ANTI-TRAFFICKING POLICY 

3.1. 

3.2. 

3.3. 

3.4. 

3.5. 

3.6. 

3.7. 

In  the  light  of  the  above  mentioned  analysis,  the  Commission  suggests 
concentrating  efforts  in  the  short  term  on  a  few  key  actions,  which  have  been 
identified taking into account the weak points highlighted in this paper. A new 
strategy will be set up on the basis of the results achieved by the end of 2009.  

To  establish  National  Rapporteurs  or  equivalent  mechanisms,  with  a  view  to 
monitoring trends of trafficking and the results of anti-trafficking policy on the 
basis of agreed criteria and indicators (Commission, Member States)  

To  establish  or  strengthen  national  mechanisms  for  identification  and  referral 
to  services  of  victims  of  trafficking,  based  on  agreements  between  law 
enforcement and civil society stakeholders adopting a gender perspective and a 
human rights approach (Commission, Presidency, Member States)  

To  establish  or  strengthen  child  protection  systems  aimed  at  effectively 
exploring whether there are reasons to suspect that trafficking has occurred in 
any  case  in  which  a  child  is  exploited  in  prostitution,  the  sex  industry,  labour, 
begging,  illicit  activities  or  any  other  form  of  exploitation  (Commission, 
Member States)  

To support and provide sufficient funding for NGOs that provide assistance to 
trafficked  persons;  to  support  efforts  made  by  NGOs  to  establish  a  more 
structured  network,  and  recognise  such  a  network  as  a  major  interlocutor 
(Commission, Member States) 

To  organise  systemic  training  of  the  key  stakeholders  involved  in  the 
identification of trafficking cases, with a special focus on trafficking for labour 
exploitation (Europol, Cepol, Member States) 

To  enhance  coordination  of  investigation  and  prosecution,  including  by 
promoting  the  use  of  Europol  and  Eurojust  resources  (Presidency,  Europol, 
Eurojust) 

To strengthen current action concerning external relations, in particular in the 
Western  Balkans  and  with  the  EU's  Eastern  neighbours,  as  well  as  with 
countries  in  North-Africa,  including  by  removing  obstacles  to  judicial  co-
operation  in  criminal  matters.  To  encourage  the  inclusion  of  the  fight  against 
trafficking in the political and cooperation dialogue, in Country Strategy Papers 
and in the poverty reduction and cooperation strategies with partner countries 
(Commission, Presidency) 

EN 

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   EN