EU Trafficking Strategy Welcomed
Brussels -- Wednesday 23 March, 2011
I really welcome the UK government's decision to opt-in to an EU directive which aims at combating human trafficking. The government was able to successfully negotiate significant changes that will encourage cross-border cooperation without giving other EU countries powers to interfere in our domestic criminal justice matters.
The UK government had to indicate whether it would opt-in or out at both the start and the end of negotiations on Justice and Home Affairs matters. When this proposal was initially tabled last Summer the UK government rightly chose to opt-out but to intensively negotiate in order to refocus the directive on cooperation to improve prevention of trafficking, rather than one that harmonises penalties and gives other EU countries extra-territorial jurisdiction in the UK.
Following the UK's successful negotiations, the European Parliament voted on the proposals last December and Conservative MEPs supported the redrafted directive and the UK government has now announced that it can opt-in. I made this statement about the decision, and encouraging cooperative work on human trafficking:
"This has been a major success story for the UK's activist approach in EU negotiations. We have been able to bring this directive to a point where the UK can opt in, and still maintain control over its criminal justice system.
"The UK government was absolutely right to opt-out of the EU's human trafficking directive in the first instance and it is absolutely right, on balance, to opt-in now that negotiations have been successfully completed and the problems ironed out.
"I had serious concerns about this directive at the beginning. In particular it extended extra-territorial jurisdiction, which goes far beyond the principle of cooperation. We have worked out the most egregious parts so that the UK can sign up; that's exactly what strong leadership in Europe is about.
"We need all nations to work together to combat this form of modern day slavery and EU legislation did need to be made more effective. The directive that we have is still not perfect but it will significantly enhance cooperation to prevent trafficking, whilst giving necessary assistance to victims."
