The Commission will create a European coalition of companies against human trafficking

The European Commission is including in its new strategy against human trafficking a European coalition of companies, intended to reduce the risks of exploitation and help identify cases more quickly. The strategy also provides for closer cooperation between labour inspectors through the European Labour Authority, in a context where more than 20,000 victims were recorded in the EU in 2023 and 2024.

The European Commission will create a European coalition of companies against human trafficking and wants to intensify cooperation among labour inspectors in the Member States through the European Labour Authority. The two measures are part of the new EU strategy against human trafficking, presented on 16 October, which seeks to respond more effectively to labour exploitation, online recruitment and the increasingly cross-border nature of trafficking networks.

In brief

The Commission will create a European coalition of companies to prevent exploitation and identify trafficking risks more quickly.

Labour inspectorates in EU Member States are expected to cooperate more closely through the European Labour Authority, with a focus on labour exploitation.

More than 20,000 victims were recorded in the EU in 2023 and 2024, 16.1% more than in the 2021–2022 period.

The strategy also addresses recruitment through online platforms and the use of technology and artificial intelligence by traffickers.

The document sets out policy directions and actions for the Commission, but does not itself introduce new legal obligations for companies.

Private-sector involvement is one of the six directions of the new strategy. The Commission starts from the idea that companies may encounter trafficking and exploitation risks in recruitment, subcontracting, supply chains or the workplace, and can help identify signals that authorities find more difficult to detect. The announced European coalition is expected to create a framework for cooperation with the business community on prevention and early detection. However, the documents published now do not establish a list of participating companies, an exact launch date or additional obligations for companies that do not participate.

The same component of the strategy concerns labour inspectorates. The Commission says it will support Member States in strengthening cooperation among inspectors through the European Labour Authority. The issue is particularly important in cases of labour exploitation, where identifying a victim may begin during an inspection at a workplace, before the situation reaches the police or prosecutors.

The European Labour Authority already has experience in cooperation between national authorities in cases with a cross-border dimension, and joint meetings between inspectorates and law-enforcement structures have also addressed human trafficking for labour exploitation. The new strategy does not turn ELA into a European authority that replaces national inspectorates. Inspections and enforcement powers remain primarily national, while the European role is to facilitate cooperation.

The Commission also justifies the change in approach through developments in trafficking. More than 20,000 victims were recorded in EU Member States in 2023 and 2024, 16.1% more than in the two previous years. The figure refers to victims identified and recorded by authorities and is not an estimate of all people trafficked. Differences between Member States may reflect both the scale of the phenomenon and the authorities’ capacity to detect and record victims.

Exploitation is not limited to sexual exploitation. European data include victims of labour exploitation, forced criminality, forced begging, forced marriage and other forms. The Commission also points out that trafficking is increasingly linked to technology, with online platforms and digital tools being used to contact, recruit, manipulate or control victims.

The first direction of the strategy is consequently the better use of technology for prevention, detection and investigations. The Commission wants the authorities’ response to keep pace with the digital methods used by traffickers, including the use of artificial intelligence. The strategy does not create a new offence related to AI, but places investigation of the digital environment among the operational priorities.

Another direction aims to dismantle cross-border networks associated with organised crime. The Commission proposes closer police cooperation, intelligence-led investigations, the tracing of financial flows and asset recovery. The rationale is that eliminating an individual situation of exploitation is not enough if the criminal structure, revenues and recruitment mechanisms remain intact.

The strategy separately addresses risks arising along migration routes. According to data used by the Commission, 36% of recorded victims were EU citizens, while 64% were citizens of countries outside the Union. Screening measures, border procedures and safeguards in reception systems are presented as points at which vulnerable people can be identified earlier. Human trafficking does not necessarily involve crossing a border, however, and a country’s citizens may be exploited in their own country.

Crises constitute another category of risk. Drawing on the experience of the anti-trafficking plan related to Ukraine, the Commission intends to develop operational guidelines for identifying and managing trafficking risks in crisis situations. These are expected to involve EU agencies, national authorities and civil society organisations.

The final pillar concerns the protection of vulnerable people and victims. The Commission insists that victims’ support and rights must remain part of the police and judicial response, rather than a separate stage that begins after the investigation has ended. Early identification is important, including for access to services, protection and national referral mechanisms.

For Romania, the issue remains relevant beyond European comparisons as well. The National Agency against Trafficking in Persons recorded 707 victims in 2025, following 610 in 2024. ANITP indicates that sexual exploitation remained the main form of exploitation, while labour trafficking and recruitment through digital means continue to require distinct interventions. National data are produced through its own identification system and should not be mechanically confused with Eurostat totals, which follow the European reporting methodology.

The new strategy follows the revision of European anti-trafficking legislation. The directive amended in 2024 expanded the EU framework to forms such as the exploitation of surrogacy, forced marriage and illegal adoption, strengthened victim protection and introduced new requirements concerning prevention and coordination. Member States had until 15 July 2026 to transpose the amendments into national legislation.

The October 2026 strategy does not replace this directive and does not itself amend the applicable legislation. It sets out the Commission’s priorities for the next stage, including cooperation with companies, labour inspectorates, EU agencies, partner countries and international organisations. The European Parliament and the Council are expected to discuss the document, while the EU Coordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings will work with national coordinators and the other stakeholders to implement the actions set out.

https://2eu.brussels/ro/news/comisia-va-crea-o-coalitie-europeana-a-companiilor-impotriva-traficului-de-persoane