Commission launches public consultation on modernising rules against trafficking in human beings

Today, the Commission is launching a public consultation on the future of combatting trafficking in human beings, including possible ways to reinforce, develop and modernise the existing framework. Providing an opportunity for members of the public to voice their opinions, the results of this public consultation will inform the evaluation and possible revision of the EU Anti-Trafficking Directive. The Directive has been the backbone of the EU’s efforts in combatting human trafficking since 2011. However, recent progress reports show that trafficking in human beings has evolved, which could call for changes to the existing Directive. As announced in the EU Strategy on Combatting Trafficking in Human Beings, this review will aim to modernise these rules and will specifically explore the possibility of making the use of the services of exploited victims of trafficking a mandatory criminal offence. For more details, please see Commissioner Johansson’s blogpost. The public consultation is available here and is open until 22 March 2021.