Today, 15 July 2026, marks the deadline for transposing the revised EU Anti-Trafficking Directive. We note that many legislative and policy processes are still ongoing. We call upon Member States to ensure adequate transposing and full implementation of the Directive and adopt ambitious measures which go beyond minimum standards, ensuring the early identification, referral, and support of victims, and their access to justice and protection.
Article 19 of the Directive strengthens the EU’s framework for monitoring, coordination and reporting on human trafficking.
It clarifies the obligation to establish a well-resourced National Anti-Trafficking Coordinator. Article 19a and 19b further introduce two new binding obligations. First, Member States must establish systems for the recording, production, and provision of anonymized statistical data to monitor the effectiveness of their anti-trafficking response and report now annually. Second, Member States must adopt a National Anti-Trafficking Action Plan by 15 July 2028, developed and implemented in consultation with the National Anti-Trafficking Coordinator or equivalent mechanism.
So far, monitoring and coordination across EU Member States has been inconsistent. National action plans have not always been adequately resourced or implemented. Many EUMS do not yet have specific National Anti-Trafficking Coordinators, and civil society has too often been excluded from meaningful participation in national coordination structures. Regrettably, the article does not introduce an obligation to establish independent Rapporteurs or monitoring bodies. Meanwhile, data collection across the EU remains fragmented and difficult to compare, undermining the evidence base needed for an effective and rights-based response.
The EU Anti-Trafficking Hub has published its Study on the Collection and Improvement of EU Statistics on Trafficking in Human Beings, to which La Strada International contributed. The study provides a comparative mapping of national data collection systems on trafficking in human beings and examines data coordination models, definitions used, data sources, methodologies, data flows, and existing data-sharing arrangements. It also identifies systemic gaps and operational challenges that hinder the comparison of data or the creation of a coherent EU-level statistical picture, while providing recommendations for further action at the national level.
Key recommendations of this study include:
- Improving data reporting on victims and suspects/offenders related to “knowing use” offences (Article 18a(1) Anti-Trafficking Directive), now being mandatory, is of key importance.
- Improve specific reporting on criminal justice-related data as a matter of priority (number and characteristics (sex, age, form of exploitation, citizenship of victims and individuals suspected, number of individuals prosecuted and/or convicted per citizenship, per Member State).
- Set up coordination models and improve coordination among stakeholders. The establishment of clear agreements delineating the role of each actor, their responsibilities and expectations of the coordinator of the data collection can enhance national collaboration. Coordination models support the national collaboration by allowing the aggregation of data centrally if data collection occurs at the local or regional level.
- Promote compliance with the EU Anti-Trafficking Directive in the collection of victim and offender data. According to the Directive, this data should be disaggregated by sex, age, citizenship, and form(s) of exploitation. Relatedly, delineating common ranges, for example, age, could improve the comparability of data.
- Include presumed victims in the data transmitted to Eurostat on human trafficking, as a matter of priority.
- Standardise data cleaning procedures and implement quality checks. This could be carried out through automated de-duplication or manual cross-checking to avoid double-counting. Regular data audits by dedicated personnel can also be considered for controlling the quality of the data if resources allow.
Read also about the remaining revised articles of the Anti-Trafficking Directive.