The EU Council has adopted changes to the EU Anti-Trafficking Directive which fail to address root causes of trafficking and fail to protect and empower trafficked people. 

Lilana Keith, Senior Advocacy Officer at PICUM, said: “The revision of the Anti-trafficking Directive is a wasted opportunity to make a difference for trafficked people. The changes don’t address the barriers to safe reporting, remedy and compensation, they don’t improve access to residence permits. The focus was narrowly on doubling down on a criminalisation approach that’s ineffective and actually raises concerns for victims and those at risk.” 

One of the main changes is that the revised Directive obliges member states to criminalise the knowing use of services of trafficked people, when this was previously optional. This is despite the lack of evidence that this measure is effective in tackling trafficking or strengthening the rights of victims. Currently two-thirds of EU member states already have such a provision, and prosecutions and convictions are rare. On the contrary, further criminalisation will likely harm the rights of sex workers and those who are trafficked and exploited in the sector.  

Sex workers already face a multitude of harms when their clients are criminalised and when targeted by anti-trafficking actions. These risk being exacerbated by criminalising the knowing use of services of trafficked people, due to lack of understanding, fear among clients and discriminatory policing.  

Such measures will likely weaken efforts to enhance identification of trafficked people and their referral to support services, including by clients. Rather than focusing on identifying victims of trafficking, resources will be directed to identifying people who have “knowingly used” the services. Victims can be worse off too, being treated primarily as “witnesses” to an offence and having to testify against the users of their services, rather than victims of trafficking entitled to protection and support. 

The new Directive does introduce the requirement to let trafficked children report abuse in a safe and confidential way, but it fails to extend this crucial provision to adults. Fear of immigration enforcement is one of the major reasons preventing people experiencing abuse from contacting authorities and receiving the protection and services they are due. 

The final text also no longer requires member states to establish independent national Rapporteurs, which are important institutions to monitor human trafficking trends and policy responses.  

The only really positive improvement is that the revised Directive says it must be possible for member states not to punish trafficked people for administrative offences (in addition to criminal offences) they might have committed while trafficked. This should be implemented so that undocumented trafficked people do not face immigration enforcement or any sanction related to their undocumented residence or work. 

Suzanne Hoff, International Coordinator of La Strada International, said: “If there are indications of trafficking, the law already grants the person access to unconditional support, regardless of their status or engagement with authorities or legal proceedings. However, this hardly happens in practice, and also prevents access to remedies. The revision should have addressed this, and incorporated more binding provisions to strengthen rights for trafficked people. This includes the possibility to access a residence permit on personal grounds, the erasure of any criminal record and sanctions linked to their trafficking, and the prefinancing by States of compensation awarded”. 

In a final vote on 12 April 2024, the Council of the EU approved work permit rules for migrant workers that would improve application processes, labour market mobility and possibilities to escape exploitation (the revised Single Permit Directive).

Most notably, the revised Directive seeks to ease procedures for non-EU workers to change employer. Work permits are often issued linked to a specific job, tying the migrant worker to their employer. Changing employer often entails lengthy and costly procedures, keeps workers in great uncertainty and ultimately prevents many from changing employer even when they endure abuse and exploitation. While governments will still be able to require certain conditions to be met, workers will now have a right to change employer and the process should be simpler, faster and more predictable.

In the same vein, the revised Directive also ensures migrant workers can be out of work for a certain period of time without automatically losing their permit. This is a crucial aspect for workers needing or choosing to change employer, as they can use this time to seek alternative work without becoming undocumented. Workers on a single permit will now be able to be out of work for least three months, or six months if they have been on a single permit for more than two years, within the validity of the permit. If there are reasonable grounds that the worker has experienced particularly exploitative working conditions, they can be out of work for an additional three months without their permit becoming invalid. The new law also requires governments to facilitate complaints and access to legal redress for migrant workers.

Some other changes aim to make it easier to apply for and obtain a single permit, in particular: in-country applications must now be accepted if the worker has a valid residence permit in the country and processing times are now capped at 90 days (previously they were 120 days).

Lilana Keith, Senior Advocacy Officer at PICUM, said:  “Too often work permits tie migrant workers to their employers, disempower them and enable exploitation. Though far from perfect, this revision of the Single Permit Directive is an important step forward in recognising the right of all workers to change employer and potentially escape situations of abuse.”

This revision is a promising step forward in enforcing the rights of migrant workers and improving their working conditions. Much more though still needs to be done to really break the chain of dependency of workers on their employers – and much will also depend on how national governments implement these new rules.

Following the adoption of this directive by the European Parliament plenary session in mid-March, the Council’s vote is the final step of the legislative process on the revision of the Single Permit Directive. Governments will now have two years to make sure these revised rules are applied on national level.