Migrant smuggling

Migrant smuggling is a profitable business for criminal networks with an estimated annual turnover reaching multiple billion euros worldwide. Smugglers use land, sea and air routes to facilitate irregular migration both into and within the European Union.

Migrant smuggling is increasingly associated with serious human rights violations and deaths, in particular when it occurs by sea. The loss of migrants' lives at the hands of smugglers in the Mediterranean Sea stresses the acute need to tackle migrant smuggling, using all of the legal, operational, and administrative levers available.

The fact that migrant smuggling networks are closely linked to other forms of serious and organised crime including terrorism, trafficking in human beings and money laundering increases this urgency.

As announced in the New Pact on Migration and Asylum and the EU Security Union Strategy, the Commission has adopted a renewed EU action plan against migrant smuggling for the period 2021-2025, following up on the EU action plan against migrant smuggling, which was adopted in May 2015.

The renewed EU action plan strengthens operational cooperation, and information exchange among EU countries and EU law enforcement agencies to investigate and prosecute migrant smuggling networks. It covers areas such as financial investigations, asset recovery, document fraud and digital smuggling. The renewed EU action plan adopts a comprehensive approach and seeks even closer cooperation with partner countries along the migratory routes towards the EU.

The renewed EU action plan against migrant smuggling includes the following main pillars of action:

• reinforced cooperation with partner countries and international organisations, including through Anti-Smuggling Operational Partnerships;
• implementing legal frameworks and sanctioning smugglers active within and outside the EU;
• preventing exploitation and ensuring the protection of migrants;
• reinforcing cooperation and supporting the work of law enforcement and the judiciary to respond to new challenges;
• improving the knowledge on smugglers’ organisation and ways of functioning.

The renewed EU action plan builds on the successful actions of the EU action plan 2015-2020. For example, the strengthened counter smuggling capacity of Europol, by creating the European Migrant Smuggling Centre, and increased information exchange and operational cooperation on migrant smuggling among EU countries, in particular through the European multidisciplinary cooperation platform against criminal threats (EMPACT).

As regards the strengthening of cooperation with partner countries, the EU action plan supports establishing operational cooperation against migrant smuggling with non-EU countries along the main migratory routes towards the EU in the form of bilateral and regional cooperation. Furthermore, capacity building activities for police and judicial authorities in non-EU countries have been provided by developing common operational partnerships.

Strengthening the effectiveness of the Employers Sanctions Directive

In order to address illegal employment of irregular migrants as one of the drivers of irregular migration, together with the renewed EU action plan, the Commission also adopted a Communication on the Employers Sanctions Directive.

The Communication looks at the practical application of the Directive and identifies the necessary actions to strengthen the Directive’s implementation, focusing on three main actions: sanctions against employers, measures to protect the rights of irregular migrants, and inspections.

Operational cooperation between law enforcement agencies of EU countries, relevant EU agencies, and partner countries is crucial for clamping down on migrant smuggling. Through the EU policy cycle and its EMPACT priority "Facilitation of Illegal Immigration" (2018-2021) and "Migrant Smuggling" (2022-2025), EU countries, EU agencies, international organisations, and third countries coordinate common priorities and operational action to fight migrant smuggling.

Europol

The European Union Agency for law enforcement cooperation - Europol, plays a key role in supporting Member States' operational cooperation through the secure exchange of information, expertise and analytical support.

Europol’s European Migrant Smuggling Centre supports Member States' investigations, including financial investigations, and increases cooperation and coordination among law enforcement agencies.

Europol's Internet Referral Unit contributes to the fight against migrant smuggling by supporting investigations in the digital domain. It also helps prevent migrant smuggling by monitoring online content and referring pages linked to migrant smuggling criminal networks to the relevant online platforms for removal.

Frontex

EU presence at the external borders is ensured also by the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) which:

• patrols the EU's external border;
• collects data and intelligence regarding smuggling routes and practices of criminal networks;
• provides support through satellite imagery in cooperation with other EU Agencies;
• provides support through operations in non-EU countries.

Other EU agencies

The following EU agencies also support the EU's action against migrant smuggling:

• European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Training (CEPOL)
• European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust)
• European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA)
• Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA)
• European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA)

The New Pact on Migration and Asylum underlines the importance of developing comprehensive, balanced, tailor-made and mutually beneficial migration partnerships with key countries of origin and transit.

Migration partnerships aim at:

• improving migration governance and management;
• supporting refugees and host communities in partner countries;
• building economic opportunities;
• promoting dignified work and addressing the root causes of irregular migration;
• stepping up cooperation on return, readmission and reintegration;
• developing legal pathways;
• attracting skills and talent to Europe.

Countering migrant smuggling constitutes an important part of these partnerships.

Anti-Smuggling Operational Partnerships

The Anti-Smuggling Operational Partnerships will be an integral part of the EU’s migration partnerships with countries of origin and transit. They will provide for a more coordinated and structured approach towards operational cooperation with partner countries to combat migrant smuggling. They will be based on a number of components, aiming at:

• strengthening legal policy;
• reinforcing operational and strategic frameworks in partner countries;
• and increasing the impact, ownership and sustainability of efforts to tackle migrant smuggling.

For the implementation of the Anti-Smuggling Operational Partnerships to be successful, they need to be supported by:

• authorities of EU countries, through the pooling of knowledge and resources;
• EU agencies, in particular Europol, Frontex and Eurojust, in line with their mandates;
• EU financial support through the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument – Global Europe (NDICI), the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance III, the Internal Security Fund, the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund and the Border Management and Visa Instrument, as well as other relevant envelopes, taking into account partner’s national strategies and ensuring their ownership.

Common Operational Partnerships and the European network of immigration liaison officers

To better manage migration in cooperation with partner countries, the EU develops dedicated common operational partnerships against migrant smuggling focusing on operational cooperation between law enforcement and the judiciary. These partnerships facilitate information sharing and joint cooperation between actors involved in the fight against migrant smuggling, including:

• EU and EU national authorities;
• host country authorities;
• international organisations and targeted stakeholders.

In 2019, the EU created the European network of immigration liaison officers (ILO network) to better coordinate officers deployed in third countries by the European Commission, EU agencies and EU countries. As part of the ILO network, these officers focus on:

• gathering and sharing information for its use at a strategic or operational level;
• rendering assistance to return and readmission related tasks;
• targeted provision of capacity-building activities to authorities.

The liaison officers of the EU agencies and the European Migration Liaison Officers (EMLOs) ease cooperation between various international actors, as well as local and national authorities.

Published studies

• Study on best practices in irregular migration awareness campaigns - Final report: the study contains lessons learned on information and awareness raising campaign design and implementation.
• Needs assessment study for the development and implementation of strategies to counter migrant smuggling: the study examined strategies in Côte d’Ivoire, Gambia, Guinea and ECOWAS.
• How West African migrants engage with migration information en-route to Europe: a study to strengthen the evidence base on communications for migration in West Africa and the Central Mediterranean route, as well as information gathering by migrants and asylum seekers travelling from West Africa to Europe.
• A study of the communication channels used by migrants and asylum seekers in Italy, with a particular focus on online and social media: a comprehensive analysis of the information and communication channels that migrants use upon their arrival in Italy.

• Proposal for a Directive laying down minimum rules to prevent and counter the facilitation of unauthorised entry, transit and stay in the Union
• Proposal for a Regulation on enhancing police cooperation in relation to the prevention, detection and investigation of migrant smuggling and trafficking in human beings
• Toolbox addressing the use of commercial means of transport to facilitate irregular migration to the EU
• Commission proposal for a Regulation on measures against transport operators that facilitate or engage in trafficking in persons or smuggling of migrants in relation to illegal entry into the territory of the EU  
• Communication on a renewed EU action plan against migrant smuggling (2021-2025)
• Communication on the Employers Sanctions Directive
• Commission Guidance on the implementation of EU rules on definition and prevention of the facilitation of unauthorised entry, transit and residence
• Regulation (EU) 2019/1240 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 on the creation of a European network of immigration liaison officers
• Directive 2009/52/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 June 2009 providing for minimum standards on sanctions and measures against employers of illegally staying third-country nationals
• Directive on defining the facilitation of unauthorised entry, transit and residence (2002/90/EC)
• Framework Decision on the strengthening of the penal framework to prevent the facilitation of unauthorised entry, transit and residence (2002/946/JHA)
• Council conclusion on migrant smuggling (6995/16)
• Commission evaluation on the EU legal framework against facilitation of unauthorised entry, transit and residence: the Facilitators Package
• Communication on establishing a new Partnership Framework with third countries under the European Agenda on Migration

• The New Pact on Migration and Asylum
• EU Security Union Strategy
• EU Action Plan against Migrant Smuggling (2015 - 2020)