Organized by the European Commission and the German Presidency, the regular meeting of national anti-trafficking rapporteurs and equivalent mechanisms in the EU took place on October 20-21, 2020.
The main topics of the first day of the event were the link between human trafficking and the coronavirus pandemic, labor exploitation, and action against child trafficking. Representatives of the German Federal Police, ECPAT Germany (End Child Prostitution and Trafficking), the German Trade Union Federation and the Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs spoke at the meeting, as well and a presentation was held by the Executive Secretary of the Council of Europe’s Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (GRETA).
During the tour de table the floor was open for Member States to present domestic developments as well as the measures related to the items on the agenda. On the part of the Ministry of the Interior, we provided information on the most important results of this year, such as the implementation of the new national strategy against human trafficking, the number of legislative amendments following the adoption and entry into force of Act V of 2020, such as the criminalization of the use of services provided by victims of trafficking in human beings, the opening of new shelters and ongoing projects.
On the second day of the event, a joint video conference between the national coordinators and the EU Civil Society Platform took place. The list of speakers included Ylva Johansson, Commissioner for Home Affairs, the Chair of the European Parliament's Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committee, as well as representatives of the European Parliament's Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality, and the German Presidency.