EU member states should pool their best practices in how to combat the growing problem of people trafficking and should adopt an international and multidisciplinary approach involving all relevant stakeholders, said EU Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini at a Brussels conference on 19 October.
Presenting the Commission's new communication entitled 'Fighting trafficking in human beings - an integrated approach and proposals for an action plan', he urged the drafting and implementation of national and international strategies and said that the prevention of trafficking in human beings, the protection of victims and the efficient prosecution and punishment of traffickers were the three major cornerstones of his counter-trafficking policy.
As a rule of thumb, Frattini said that human trafficking must be "addressed as part of organised crime and defined as a clear priority for law enforcement", and urged the improved involvement of Eurojust and Europol. Co-ordination and co-operation are "indispensable if we wish to be successful", he said.
Human trafficking has been a major problem in Europe since the early 1970s. According to estimates, tens of thousands of people are smuggled into Europe each year and are exploited for cheap labour or forced into prostitution. The problem affects over a million people worldwide each year.
Frattini will visit the Mediterranean region in the coming weeks, while France and Spain will present a join initiative on the issue at next week's EU summit.
