The European Commission and the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy have proposed a new EU sanctions regime to target migrant smuggling, human trafficking and other serious organised crime.
The proposed regime would cover activity originating outside the EU that is “widespread, systematic or organised” and seen as a threat to the Union’s values and security, the Commission announced on Thursday.
It would also apply to conduct linked to migrant smuggling and trafficking in human beings, as well as illicit drugs, the illicit manufacture and trafficking of firearms, and money laundering.
Under the proposal, the EU would be able to list individuals and entities involved in these activities — including those who lead, direct or support them — and apply restrictive measures against them.
Those measures would include freezing assets and banning EU-based individuals and businesses from making funds or other economic resources available to listed people or organisations.
Listed individuals would also face travel bans preventing entry into, or transit through, EU member states.
The Commission said illegal arrivals into the EU were down by more than 50% over the past two years, while adding that people “still risk and lose their lives at the hands of smugglers”.
Approval needed from all EU member states
The proposals will be presented to the Council of the EU, where they would need to be adopted unanimously by member states, the Commission said.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU was “presenting a new sanctions regime against migrant smugglers and traffickers” and added: “We in Europe must be the ones to decide who comes to us and in what circumstances.”
Kaja Kallas, the High Representative and a Vice-President of the European Commission, said the proposal would target organised criminal networks “where it hurts them most: their finances and their ability to operate across borders”.
