Today the Commission is reporting on progress in the fight against trafficking in human beings. The report presents trends, progress and challenges in this field. Efforts must be stepped up to effectively fight this phenomenon.

Today, key Belgian stakeholders in the fight against migrant smuggling discussed inter alia the use of social media in migrant smuggling at a round-table organized by the Belgian Contact Point of the EMN.

The Council conclusions on migrant smuggling were adopted by the Council at its 3455th meeting held on 10-11 March 2016

The Justice and Home Affairs Council of 25/02/2016 discussed the current migratory situation, including the monitoring of implementation of the measures already agreed at recent meetings of the European Council and Justice and Home Affairs Council.

Today Europol launched the new European Migrant Smuggling Center (EMSC) to pro-actively support EU Member States in dismantling criminal networks involved in organized migrant smuggling.

The 2015 Annual Report on trafficking and smuggling in human beings is now available in English. This report is produced by Myria, the Belgian Federal Migration Centre and the independent National Rapporteur on trafficking in human beings.

On 12-13 January, the EMN conference gathered over 200 participants to provide impetus for the implementation of the EU Action Plan against Smuggling. The conference resulted in concrete recommendations to better address migrant smuggling.