On 5 June 2025, at the meeting of the National Coordinators and Rapporteurs on combatting trafficking in human beings, the European Commission launched the EU Anti-Trafficking Hub. This is an important initiative of the 2021–2025 EU Strategy on Combating Trafficking in Human Beings.
In support of the EU Anti-Trafficking Coordinator, the Hub will contribute to the development of EU policies to combat and prevent trafficking in human beings and protect its victims. It will also support the implementation of the EU Strategy on Combatting Trafficking in Human Beings and the EU Anti-Trafficking Directive.
The EU Anti-Trafficking Hub brings together expertise and will engage in three main activities: research, analysis, and advice in collaboration with stakeholders. It will serve as a platform for participatory dialogue, and creative thinking for genuine knowledge production and exchange.
Prepared by HEUNI’s expert Anniina Jokinen within the framework of the EU Anti-Trafficking Hub, the study “Study on the concept of trafficking in human beings for the purpose of labour exploitation on the basis of illustrative national legislation and jurisprudence” examines how trafficking for labour exploitation is understood and applied across Europe.
This study, carried out by the EU Anti-Trafficking Hub, examines trafficking for labour exploitation in Europe through examples from Italy, Finland, France, Spain, and the Netherlands. The study highlights that legal rules across the EU are complex, making it difficult to distinguish trafficking in human beings from other forms of labour exploitation. The analysis focuses on three main areas: conceptual clarity - defining trafficking for labour exploitation and related offences; legal interpretation - applying national legislation to labour exploitation; and practical challenges - obstacles to enforcement, prosecution, and victim support).
The main recommendations include:
- Strengthen the use of the human trafficking framework set up by the EU Anti-Trafficking Directive;
- Put in place national guidelines and a common list of trafficking indicators and train investigators and law enforcement staff on their use; Proactively initiate investigations under the trafficking framework when cases present indicators;
- Provide access to all victims of labour exploitation to adequate support services, compensation mechanisms and legal remedies, including safe reporting and complaint mechanisms;
- Ensure availability of specialised investigators, prosecutors, and judges who have a thorough knowledge of the legal elements of trafficking for labour exploitation and understand the complex dynamics that underpin exploitative labour practices and their impact on victims.
For further details, key findings and recommendations, find the full study below.
