Migrant smuggling: EU Council set to vote on text threatening people helping migrants

On 13th December 2024, the EU Council will vote on new EU rules about migrant smuggling which would leave the door open to the criminalisation of migrants and solidarity with migrants. The vote marks the Council’s position on the new draft Facilitation Directive, a European Commission proposal to counter migrant smuggling by expanding the crime definition and upping prison sentences.

The text set to be voted by the Council also fails to introduce a legally binding provision that would exempt acts of solidarity with people in an irregular situation from criminalisation. Instead, the Council will vote to simply invite member states not to criminalise humanitarian acts in a non-binding recital. Without a legal requirement that prohibits the criminalisation of migration and solidarity, there is genuine concern that member states will increase legal procedures against migrants themselves and people helping migrants.

PICUM has been documenting a steady rise of criminalisation of solidarity with migrants in the past few years: at least 117 people were criminalised for helping migrants in 2023; at least 102 people in 2022, and at least 89 people between January 2021 and March 2022.

The text to be voted by the Council underlines that the Facilitation Directive only provides for minimum rules, hinting at the possibility for member states to increase the level of criminalisation under their national legislation if they wish so.

Marta Gionco, Senior Advocacy Officer at PICUM, said: “European governments have been increasingly cracking down on migrants and on people who help them. This vote goes in the direction of more criminalisation, with more people expected to face trials, fines and prison sentences simply for helping other people.”

The trend towards more criminalisation would also risk affecting the very victims of smuggling.

International law is clear that migrants who are victims of smuggling should not be criminalised. The current law already fails to provide any protection, and the new text only mentions this in a non-binding recital, effectively leaving the door open to the criminalisation of migrants themselves, and their family members.

The European Parliament is expected to discuss its own position on the draft Facilitation Directive at the start of 2025. The Parliament and the Council will then have to reach an agreement between their respective positions, before a final text is approved.