23 January 2024, 22:20
Today the Belgian presidency of the Council and representatives of the European Parliament reached a provisional agreement to add forced marriage, illegal adoption and surrogacy as types of exploitation covered by the EU’s anti-trafficking law. The update of the directive on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings will also require EU countries to make sure that people knowingly using services provided by victims of trafficking can face sanctions. Other amendments concern the strengthening of victims’ support and assistance as well as prevention measures.
Human trafficking is a criminal act that has a severe human toll. This much-needed update of the directive will better equip member states to fight this awful crime in all its forms.
Paul Van Tigchelt, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice and the North Sea
Forced marriage, illegal adoption, and surrogacy
Council and European Parliament negotiators agreed to explicitly mention in the directive that the exploitation of surrogacy, forced marriage and illegal adoption are types of exploitation which fall under the scope of the definition of trafficking. The trafficking for the exploitation of surrogacy, which is when a woman agrees to deliver a child on behalf of another person or couple to become the child’s parent(s) after birth, will target those who coerce or deceive women into acting as surrogate mothers.
Including these forms of trafficking in the EU anti-trafficking law will take into account the prevalence and the relevance of these forms of exploitation.
Penalties and sanctions
As is the case in the current directive, the new types of exploitation (forced marriage, illegal adoption and surrogacy) will be punishable by a maximum penalty of at least five years of imprisonment, or of at least ten years of imprisonment in case of aggravated offences.
The Council and EU Parliament have also decided to include a new aggravating circumstance in the law to take into account the amplifying effect that information and communication technologies (ICT) can have as regards trafficking. This includes the fact that the perpetrator facilitated or committed the dissemination, by means of ICT, of images, videos or similar material of a sexual nature involving the victim.
Sanctions on legal persons, such as companies, held accountable for trafficking offences will also be beefed up. They will from now on cover the exclusion from access to public funding, including tender procedures, grants, concessions and licences, and the withdrawal of permits and authorisations to pursue activities which have resulted in committing the offence.
Using services provided by victims of trafficking
The agreement between Council and European Parliament foresees that member states must make it a criminal offence if a person who uses the service provided by a trafficking victim knows that the person is a victim of trafficking. In such cases, member states need to ensure that this offence is punishable by effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties.
Under the current law member states should only consider making the use of services of persons exploited by human traffickers a criminal offence.
Next steps
Today’s provisional agreement will be submitted to member state’s representatives in the Council (Coreper) for confirmation. It will also have to be formally adopted by both institutions.
Background information
In 2011, the EU adopted a directive on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and protecting the victims of this crime. This is a key instrument in the fight against human trafficking as it sets minimum rules concerning the definition (at national level) of criminal offences and sanctions. It also includes EU-wide rules to strengthen prevention and protection of victims.
According to European Commission data, sexual and labour exploitation are the main purposes of trafficking in human beings. However, begging or organ removal – already explicitly mentioned in the 2011 directive – and forced marriage and illegal adoption – which are not explicitly mentioned – now represent 11% of all victims in the EU in 2020.
The EU’s fight against organised crime (background information)
EU Parliament background on trafficking in human beings: deal on new EU rules
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New crimes at EU level include forced marriage, illegal adoption and surrogacy for reproductive exploitation
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Broader scope for law enforcement to dismantle criminal organisations
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Penalties for companies convicted for trafficking
Parliament and Council negotiators reached a provisional deal to revise rules on preventing and combating human trafficking on Tuesday.
The informal agreement reached by Parliament and Council on Tuesday night will expand the scope of the current directive to include forced marriage, illegal adoption, exploitation of surrogacy and better support for victims.
It will also:
- make sure anti-trafficking and asylum authorities coordinate their activities so that victims of trafficking, who are also in need of international protection, receive appropriate support and protection, and that their right to asylum is respected;
- criminalise the use of services provided by a victim of an offence concerning trafficking in human beings, where the user knows that the victim is exploited, to reduce the demand driving exploitation;
- introduce penalties for companies convicted of trafficking, including excluding them from tendering processes and from reimbursement for public aid or subsidies;
- ensure that prosecutors can choose not to prosecute victims for criminal acts they were coerced into committing, and that they receive support regardless of whether they cooperate in investigations or not;
- ensure support to victims using a gender-, disability- and child-sensitive approach and based on an intersectional approach;
- guarantee the rights of persons with disabilities and appropriate support, including appointing guardians or representatives, to unaccompanied children;
- allow judges to consider the non-consensual spreading of sexual images or videos as an aggravating circumstance when handing out sentences.
Press conference with Parliament’s negotiators
A press conference with Eugenia Rodríguez Palop (The Left, Spain), lead MEP for the Women’s Rights and Gender Equality Committee, and Malin Björk (The Left, Sweden), lead MEP for the Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committee, is scheduled for 12:30 CET at the European Parliament in Brussels. Find out more here.
Quotes
Eugenia Rodríguez Palop said: “As Parliament, we had an ambitious position and the Council has shown itself open to dialogue, with the initial push of the Spanish Presidency. We all had to give in, but the result is good. We have introduced, amongst others, the exploitation of surrogacy, improved prevention, strengthened investigation and prosecutions as well as coordination and monitoring, and included measures to better protect, assist and support all victims. Today we are a little closer to ending this form of barbarism.”
Malin Björk said: “I’m happy with this agreement. It strengthens the protection of victims of trafficking, with a special focus on the most vulnerable victims including persons in need of international protection, women and girls and children. It requires the Member States step up their response to trafficking in human beings including mandating national anti-trafficking coordinators. We have agreed to tackle exploitation of trafficking victims in its most obvious forms. Even though I would have liked to have a more extensive ban on exploitation including sexual exploitation, this is already an improvement on current legislation. It can never be okay to take advantage of trafficking victims.”
Next steps
Parliament and Council will have to formally approve the agreement. The new rules will come into force twenty days after their publication in the EU Official Journal, and member states have two years to implement the provisions.