Chair,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union and its Member States.

The European Union and its Member States are strongly committed to preventing and combating the smuggling of migrants.  

We are committed to work with our partner countries and international organisations to tackle the global challenge of migrant smuggling. This is why the European Commission organised an International Conference on a Global Alliance to Counter Migrant Smuggling that took place on 28 November 2023, with the participation of UNODC.

The Call to Action on the Global Alliance, launched during this Conference, calls on all governments, international organisations and online service providers to work collectively to strengthen international cooperation, applying a whole-of-route approach. Three strands of work were identified: i) the prevention of migrant smuggling, ii) the response to migrant smuggling and iii) the alternatives to irregular migration, including addressing the root causes and facilitating legal pathways.

As a follow up to the Conference, in 2024, the European Commission organised, jointly with UNODC and other partners, thematic meetings focussing on specific issues falling under these three strands, in order to support the implementation of the Global Alliance through concrete work that can deliver results. The European Commission is also intending to organise a new Ministerial Conference later on in 2024.

On the legislative front, the European Commission also proposed, on 28 November 2023, new legislation to prevent and fight migrant smuggling.

This package included a proposal to upgrade the criminal law framework, by setting minimum rules to prevent and counter the facilitation of unauthorised entry, transit and stay in the EU and another proposal to reinforce the role of Europol in the fight against migrant smuggling and trafficking in human beings.

Chair,

Cooperation between countries along migratory routes is essential. To reinforce cooperation with partner countries or regions along migratory routes towards the EU, the EU has developed dedicated and tailor-made Anti-Smuggling Operational Partners. In 2022 and 2023, the EU launched such partnerships with Morocco, Niger, the Western Balkans and Tunisia. These Partnerships are part of broader migration partnerships and will contribute to building the capacities and strengthening operational cooperation.

We also need to pay particular attention to investigate and prosecute the heads of criminal networks that smuggle migrants, who put lives of migrants at risk to maximise criminal profit. For this reason, there is a clear need to strengthen our response and “follow the money” and to freeze and confiscate the criminal assets.

Digital tools, social media, encrypted communication and cryptocurrencies, are used more and more in the area of migrant smuggling. Tackling migrant smuggling in the digital domain presents significant challenges for law enforcement and judicial authorities. The European Commission has launched an important strand of work to address this challenge.  

Cooperation with the private sector, for example in the digital domain with social media platforms, and with the transport sector, is important because migrant smugglers are creative in changing their modi operandi to exploit private sector services to expand their criminal business.

Our work with partner countries also includes support to reducing the incentives to embark on dangerous journeys. This includes providing protection to those in need, addressing the root causes of irregular migration, and promoting legal migration and safe legal pathways to Europe in accordance with national competences. These measures go hand in hand with our efforts to strengthening border and migration management capacities and communicating these measures through targeted information campaigns. This will contribute to avoiding the loss of life of people during perilous journeys, whether on land or at sea.

The EU will ensure adequate financing that matches, supports and translates into action the ambition and objectives of the Global Alliance. We look forward to close cooperation with partner countries to join the Alliance, based on the United Nations Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air and in cooperation with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, including within the framework of our discussions in the Working Group.

Finally, the UE remains deeply concerned by the ongoing conflicts, including Russian war of aggression against Ukraine and humanitarian crises in the world, which fuel instability and stimulate an increase in organized crime, including smuggling of migrants.

We are particularly worried when this crime, taking also form of instrumentalization and weaponization of migrants, is state-supported act, what we can observe in recent years on the eastern border of the EU.

Thank you, Chair.