This consultation supports the evaluation and impact assessment of Council Framework Decision 2008/841/JHA regarding the effectiveness of current rules in the fight against organised crime.
The assessment indicates that organised crime increasingly exploits systemic gaps in migration and labour laws, specifically affecting the vulnerabilities of women and girls. High-threat networks have adapted by using digital platforms for recruitment and operating under the guise of legitimate business fronts, such as massage parlours or cleaning agencies, which makes exploitation and trafficking significantly harder to detect.
Key Challenges Identified
The current system faces several efficiency and effectiveness challenges:
Shifting exploitation environments
Criminal activities have moved from public spaces to private apartments and digital platforms.
Judicial hurdles
Police often prioritise public order over structural coercion, and low conviction rates persist because the burden of proof remains on victims.
Witness vulnerability
Migrant women often fear deportation more than traffickers, and a lack of residency status makes them “unavailable” witnesses.
Operational gaps
There is a lack of unified cross-border data systems to trace victims, and incarcerated masterminds are sometimes able to influence their networks from within prison.
Recommendations to Strengthen the EU Response
To improve the EU response, the text advocates for a revamped and unified policy that includes:
- Aggravated penalties for offences involving violence, corruption, or the recruitment of minors.
- Specialised sex-sensitive investigative units and specialized judiciary members to handle organised crime cases.
- Financial disruption through the “follow the money” principle and mandatory asset seizure.
- Restorative justice, where seized assets are ring-fenced for the unconditional support and compensation of women survivors.
- Administrative powers for local authorities to actively disrupt criminal infiltration of the legal economy and public procurement.