Chair,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union and its Member States. Albania, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Republic of Moldova, Serbia, and Ukraine align themselves with this statement.

The European Union and its Member States are strongly committed to preventing and countering the smuggling of migrants in full respect and protection of their rights, safety and dignity.  .

We also continue to be fully engaged in working with partner countries and international organisations to tackle this global challenge. Working with the UN is of paramount importance to us as our objectives are aligned with the 2030 Agenda. 

We are working with EU Member States, partner countries, the United Nations, international organisations and online service providers to operationalise the Global Alliance to Counter Migrant Smuggling, launched by the European Commission in November 2023. This collective effort is transforming the Alliance into a platform that supports concrete actions centred around three key pillars: prevention and response to migrant smuggling, and addressing alternatives to irregular migration. 

We intend to make cooperation within the Global Alliance more structured and more capable to catalyse efforts and initiatives such as those supported through regional processes and of international partners and organisations. I take this opportunity to warmly thank the UNODC for being such a key partner in implementing the Global Alliance, especially on digital smuggling. 

Throughout 2024, the European Commission has organised or supported, jointly with UNODC and other key partners, around 30 events and activities focussing on concrete work that can deliver results in cooperation with international organisations and, currently, 25 partner countries in Africa, Asia, Europe as well as Latin America and the Caribbean.

We have been advancing the revision of the EU’s legal framework, encompassing both the upgrade of our criminal law framework and of our law-enforcement cooperation response. On 25 September, an agreement was reached by the co-legislators on a new Regulation strengthening law enforcement cooperation and the role of Europol on countering migrant smuggling and trafficking in human beings, which includes the establishment of a European Centre Against Migrant Smuggling within Europol and increased information sharing obligations between national authorities and Europol. 

In order to further expand the EU toolbox, during the 2025 State of the Union Speech, the President of the European Commission announced a new regime to sanction migrant smugglers (and traffickers) to freeze their assets, restrict their ability to move around and cut off their profits.

We continue to implement information and awareness-raising campaigns highlighting the risks of irregular migration and migrant smuggling. These initiatives are directed towards migrants and prospective migrants in countries of origin and transit along the main migratory routes to the EU. 

The European Commission has also taken proactive measures in response to the evolving nature of migrant smuggling, where perpetrators rapidly exploit advances in technology to further their illicit activities.

We have been enhancing cooperation with key digital industry stakeholders through the European Union Internet Forum to effectively counter the use of services of online platforms and internet service providers to facilitate migrant smuggling.

The DigiNex initiative was launched within Europol, a pioneering community of law enforcement experts dedicated to combating migrant smuggling in the digital domain, and we set up a Global Action with UNODC to tackle the online dimension of migrant smuggling and illicit financial flows. 

Cooperation between countries along migratory routes remains essential, and we are supporting the development of new Common Operational Partnerships, aimed at preventing and countering migrant smuggling through structured cooperation between law enforcement, judiciary, and other relevant services of EU Member States, partner countries and international organisations. With EU financial support, new actions have been launched with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime to support capacities and increased international cooperation, both at global level – focusing on the digital and financial dimensions of migrant smuggling – and at national and regional level, i.e. in Asia, Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean.

Our work with partner countries aims to reduce the incentives to embark on dangerous journeys. This includes protection for those in need, addressing the root causes of irregular migration, and promoting legal migration and safe legal pathways to Europe. In this regard, the EU has launched Talent Partnerships with Bangladesh, Pakistan, Egypt, Tunisia and Morocco to create mutually beneficial partnerships and boost international labour mobility. 

On 10 December 2025, the European Commission will host the second ministerial Global Alliance conference in Brussels, with the participation of EU Member States and EU agencies. Around 80 partner countries as well as international organisations have been invited.  We will further support intensifying cooperation with partner countries and work towards pooling resources and efforts to tackle the smuggling of migrants globally. 

We look forward to our continued cooperation based on the United Nations Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air, including in the framework of this Working Group. 

Thank you, Chair.