Tougher penalties, renewal of the definition of the crime of migrant smuggling as well as a single European centre for the coordination of activities and the exchange of information is expected to be included in the Commission’s proposal for the new legal framework against it traffic networksthe president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said a while ago.
The president of the Commission, speaking at the international conference against traffickers in Brussels, underlined that work is underway to renew the anti-trafficking legislationwhich he said is 20 years old.
“We will update the definition of the crime of migrant smuggling, strengthen our penalties and expand our jurisdiction. We also want to improve cooperation between Member States and our agencies with a single European anti-smuggling center to coordinate activities and share information at Europol. We will set up operational working groups, including with partner countries, and Europol will deploy staff to strengthen Member States’ capacity in the field,” he noted. He stressed that crisis management is important, however it is not enough and a response is needed that will stop traffickers and prevent loss of life.
Ursula von der Leyen pointed out that “the first part we will work on is to prevent people from trusting their lives to traffickers”, stressing that this includes cooperation on border management and information sharing, but also “gently” tools, such as awareness campaigns, and a new focus on digital marketing.
“Most irregular crossings today are advertised on social media, organized on messaging apps and paid for by digital money transfer. And this can only be addressed at an international level, by working with internet companies. So together we can prevent people from putting their lives in the hands of ruthless criminals,” he said.
At the same time, the cooperation of law enforcement agencies is needed, added the president of the Commission, stating that the assets used by criminals must be frozen, but also that the financial flows of criminal groups must be stopped.
Source: News Beast
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