European Commission Unveils New Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking

Ahead of EU Anti-Trafficking Day, the European Commission has presented a new strategy to counter human trafficking across the European Union. The initiative follows reported data showing that more than 20,000 victims were registered in the EU across 2023 and 2024, representing a 16.1% increase, though the Commission noted that many cases remain undetected.

According to the Commission, registered victims encompass various forms of exploitation, including sexual exploitation, labour exploitation, forced criminality, begging, and forced marriage. Official data indicates that women and girls accounted for 63% of registered victims, predominantly for sexual exploitation, while children made up 15%. Men represented 74% of victims trafficked for labour exploitation. Furthermore, non-EU nationals constituted 64% of registered victims, with EU citizens making up the remaining 36%.

To address these trends, the Commission's strategy focuses on six core priorities:

• Harnessing Technology: Utilizing tools such as the Digital Services Act and the EU Internet Forum to improve prevention, detection, and investigation, alongside innovative approaches to digital investigations via the European Multidisciplinary Platform Against Criminal Threats (EMPACT).
• Private Sector Engagement: Establishing a European business coalition against trafficking in human beings and fostering collaboration between national labour inspectors through the European Labour Authority.
• Disrupting Organised Crime: Promoting intelligence-led policing, cross-border operations through joint investigation teams with Europol and Eurojust, and utilizing a sanctions regime to freeze criminal assets and disrupt business models.
• Addressing Migration-Related Risks: Deploying measures under the Pact on Migration and Asylum—such as screening and border procedures—while reinforcing Frontex's mandate to identify victims and criminal networks.
• Crisis Preparedness: Developing operational guidance based on experiences from the war in Ukraine to identify and mitigate trafficking risks during emergencies.
• Protecting Vulnerable Individuals: Ensuring victim support, protection, and rights remain integrated within law enforcement and judicial systems, alongside strengthened international cooperation with partner countries.

The strategy complements the revised Anti-Trafficking Directive, which entered into force in 2024 and required national transposition by EU Member States earlier this year. The newly presented strategy will now move forward for discussions in the European Parliament and the Council.

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