The European Commission presented a new human-trafficking strategy on October 16, combining digital investigations, action against organised crime and stronger protection for victims. The plan also calls for closer work with businesses and labour inspectors, safeguards along migration routes and better preparation for crises.
More than 20,000 people were registered as trafficking victims in the EU during 2023 and 2024, the Commission said. Its release reports an increase of 16.1% without identifying the comparison period and warns that many cases go unseen. Registered figures therefore do not describe the full scale of trafficking.
Women and girls made up 63% of registered victims, mainly in sexual exploitation, while children accounted for 15%. Men represented 74% of victims trafficked for labour exploitation. The figures measure different groups and should not be added together. It also reported that 36% of registered victims were EU citizens and 64% were nationals of other countries.
The strategy addresses forced criminality, begging and forced marriage as well as sexual and labour exploitation. It draws on the EU Internet Forum alongside the Digital Services Act and supports digital investigation methods through EMPACT.
A planned European business coalition would bring companies into the response. The European Labour Authority would help national labour inspectors cooperate. For criminal investigations, the plan promotes tracing money and recovering assets, alongside cross-border teams supported by Europol and Eurojust.
Separate proposals remain distinct from these goals. The EU executive and its foreign-policy chief proposed an organised-crime sanctions regime in July 2026; the strategy does not itself establish that regime. Other anti-smuggling and Europol proposals are still under discussion by EU lawmakers.
The plan includes guidance on identifying trafficking risks during emergencies, drawing on the response to the war in Ukraine. It also seeks closer cooperation with partner countries and international organisations, while keeping victim support and rights part of policing and court responses.
The plan supplements the revised Anti-Trafficking Directive, which entered into force in 2024. According to the Commission, countries were due to incorporate that directive into national law by July 2026. Its provisions address child protection and knowingly exploiting trafficking victims, and treat online sexual exploitation as an aggravating circumstance.
Parliament and the Council will discuss the strategy. Delivery will involve EU agencies, national coordinators and civil society; the announcement is not evidence that all planned measures are already operating.