According to the European Commission (EC), in a period from 2008 to 2010, 23,632 people were identified or presumed victims of trafficking in the European Union (EU). The EC report found that the number of people being trafficked in and to the EU increased by 18% during the period.
The report found that the majority of victims detected in the EU Member States are citizens of Romania and Bulgaria. Trafficking in human beings does not need to cross country borders, thus the report also represents data on internal EU trafficking, e.g. in 2010, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia reported that all victims in their country were citizens.
Cecilia Malmström, EU Commissioner for Home Affairs, expressed disappointment that only 6 countries out of 27 EU Member States have fully incorporated the EU Anti-Trafficking Directive in their national legislation and urged countries to respect their obligations. If fully implemented, the Directive “has the potential to have a real and concrete impact on the lives of the victims and to prevent others from falling victim to such a heinous crime,” she said.