The European Union updated its anti-trafficking laws under the ⁠Directive (EU) 2024/1712, and member states were due to transpose the directive into national law by July 15, 2026.

The 2024 Directive updates the provisions of an older 2011 directive and adds forced marriages, illegal adoption, and forced surrogate pregnancies as crimes that constitute human trafficking.

In Germany, a network of NGOs fighting human trafficking is saying that the new directive falls short on victim protections, particularly for victims with temporary residence status.

Here is an overview of what you need to know about the newly added crimes and the trafficking situation in Europe.

What are the crimes that have been included in the Directive and how do they relate to trafficking?

The new EU Directive adds the following as constituting trafficking:

1. Forced marriage: The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) describes forced marriage as where at least one person has not given full, free and informed consent for the purpose of exploitation within that marriage. The coercion can be physical, psychological or emotional and can overlap with slavery-like conditions such as domestic servitude or sexual exploitation. Depending on the country context, the UNODC indicates that forced child marriage may overlap with conditions that meet the threshold of human trafficking.
2. Illegal adoption: While there is no single universal criminal law definition of "illegal adoption", the Hague Conference on Private International Law in this document outlines the act as adoption that results from abduction, sale of trafficking in children, or other similar illegal acts against children that can include coercing or deceiving birth parents.
3. Forced or exploitation of surrogacy: The revised EU directive refers to the exploitation of surrogacy, not surrogacy itself. This qualifies as trafficking when the act is evaluated as meeting the trafficking criteria set out in the Palermo Protocols.

Under the United National Palermo Protocol, a legally binding instrument with an internationally recognized definition of human trafficking, an act must have three elements for it to be classified as trafficking in persons:

• Act: Recruiting, moving, transporting or hiding a person
• Means: Deceiving or forcing a person through various means (emotional, physical, etc)
• Purpose: Forcing a person to work or perform services for the purpose of the trafficker's economic gain

All three must be met to qualify as an act of trafficking in persons. It is important to consider the conditions set out in the Palermo Protocol because international law does not treat every forced marriage, irregular adoption or surrogacy arrangement as trafficking unless these three conditions are met. However, also important to note that in cases involving children, proof of "means" is not always necessary.

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How does the European Union fare when it comes to combatting trafficking?

The United States State Department acts as the global watchdog that monitors how countries are faring in fighting trafficking. A yearly progress report called the Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report is released, ranking countries' progress using a three-tier system,

The 2025 U.S. State Department Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report indicates that overall, Europe is performing relatively well across most regions. Western and Northern European countries such as Germany, France, Latvia, and Sweden -- among others -- fall into the Tier 1 category meaning that these countries have been found to meet all minimum rules to prevent trafficking, prosecute perpetrators, and protect victims.

Other countries such as Greece, Romania, Bulgaria, and Hungary fall into the Tier 2 category which means that while making significant efforts to curb trafficking, they do not fully meet the minimum standards.

It is important to note that the TIP report draws attention to the heightened and intersectional risks migrants face when it comes to trafficking. For example, the report highlights practices such as passport confiscation by an employer and charging exorbitant fees for recruitment as contributing factors to human trafficking for labor migrants, such as migrant seafarers.

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What do advocates and civil society organizations have to say about the new EU Directive?

Some advocates are saying that the new reforms in the EU Directive should come with proportionate reforms in victim services and safeguards.

Germany, like all member states, should have fully transposed the revised EU directive into national law by July 15, 2026. However, the Directive is still being discussed in parliament.

KOK (Bundesweiter Koordinierungskreis gegen Menschenhandel), the Berlin-based NGO Network against Trafficking in Human Beings, said that the law falls short of the requirements of the EU directive when it comes to safeguarding victims' rights.

"A comprehensive reform is expressly welcome. At the same time, KOK is urging the government to complete implementation of the directive without further delay and with a clear focus on the protection and rights of victims," KOK, whose members include over 35 member organizations, including counseling centers and women's shelters, said in a July 13 statement.

Improvements needed in access to residence rights

KOK told InfoMigrants that in Germany, significant gaps remain despite existing legal protections when it comes to identifying trafficked persons at an early stage, and access to services for victims.

KOK underscored the need for a secure residence status as a prerequisite for being able to access protection, counselling, and rights.

Under current German regulations, a foreigner who is a human trafficking victim may be granted a residence permit for a temporary stay if the public prosecutor's office has identified their presence as necessary for case proceedings or if the foreigner has declared their willingness to testify as a witness in court.

KOK argues that current protections are insufficient because residence permits often depend on cooperation with criminal investigations -- something that is often difficult for victims. "People who are too traumatized to testify, fear retaliation or are otherwise unable to cooperate may still struggle to secure lasting protection despite their ongoing support needs," Sophia Wirsching, Executive Director of KOK told InfoMigrants.

"Where immigration authorities have concrete indications that a person may be a victim of trafficking, they must grant a departure period of at least three months instead of proceeding immediately with removal," Wirsching says.

Overall, the NGO is calling for the full implementation of the revised EU Directive "to include stronger specialized support structures, sustainable funding for counselling centers, expanded shelter capacity, improved identification of victims and reforms to residence law that ensure effective access to protection."

Aslyum Pact

Moreover, KOK warns that accelerated asylum and return procedures, as laid out in the new EU Pact for Migration and Asylum, must not prevent the identification and protection of trafficking victims.

"The revised Anti-Trafficking Directive strengthens Member States' obligations to identify, protect and support victims of trafficking, while the EU Migration and Asylum Pact introduces measures to accelerate asylum and return procedures in certain situations."

These accelerated procedures "cannot come at the expense of Member States' obligations under anti-trafficking law or victims' fundamental rights," stated Wirsching. Instead, "early identification should trigger access to protection, specialized support and appropriate residence safeguards."

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