Follow-up on Global Alliance to Counter Migrant Smuggling

ANNEX:

Indicative Planning 2024

Global Alliance to Counter Migrant Smuggling

Date Event Venue

Spring 2024 Digital smuggling launch with Europol and

global partners, including private sector The Hague, The Netherlands

Spring 2024

Launch of the PACTS project (Promoting

Action and Cooperation among countries at

global level against Trafficking in Human

Beings and Smuggling of Migrants)

To be defined

23-25 April 2024

UNODC regional conference on cross-

border police and judicial cooperation

related to trafficking in persons and

smuggling in migrants

Mombasa, Kenya

26-27 April 2024

UNODC Regional Conference launching the

PROTECT project

covering Central Asia, Iraq and Pakistan

Islamabad, Pakistan

6 May 2024

Panel on the follow up of the Global

Alliance at the Copenhagen Migration

Conference – Comprehensive Partnerships

Copenhagen, Denmark

13-16 May 2024 UNODC Crime Prevention and Criminal

Justice Commission (CCPCJ) Vienna, Austria

11-12 July 2024 UNODC Working Group on Migrant

Smuggling Vienna, Austria

October 2024

Operational follow-up meeting on digital

smuggling at Europol with key Member

States, Service Providers and partner

countries

The Hague, The Netherlands

14-18 October 2024 UNTOC Conference of Parties, plan for a

side event on migrant smuggling Vienna, Austria

Q3 2024

Thematic meeting on the Toolbox for

transport operators bringing together experts

from public and private sectors

Brussels, Belgium

November 2024

Thematic event of the Niamey Process in

follow-up to the Global Alliance against

Migrant Smuggling

To be defined

November 2024 Ministerial Conference of the Global

Alliance Brussels, Belgium

Q4 2024

Strategic meeting of the EMPACT priority

on Migrant Smuggling 2024-2025 by

Europol to take stock and identify

operational priorities

The Hague, The Netherlands

(tbc)

Lauri Läänemets, Minister of Interior, Estonia

YLVA JOHANSSON Rue de la Loi, 200 B-1049 Brussels

MEMBER OF THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION Tel. +32-2 295 01 70

HOME AFFAIRS [email protected]

Brussels

Dear Minister,

The International Conference on a Global Alliance to Counter Migrant Smuggling that

took place in Brussels on 28 November 2023 successfully brought together all 27 EU

Member States, 35 partner countries, the European Parliament, seven EU Agencies and five

international organisations. It was an important landmark to demonstrate our firm

commitment to reinforce our joint action towards tackling this transnational crime more

decisively. Smugglers are responsible for over 90 percent of irregular migrants who reach EU

territory and far too often risk innocent people’s lives on treacherous roads and at sea.

Fighting this common challenge requires our joint resolute action.

Thus far, over 70 partners have expressed their commitment to the Global Alliance which

continues to evolve as a dynamic cooperation between countries of origin, transit and

destination, as well as key international organisations and the private sector. During the

International Conference, participants agreed on the crucial need to work along the main

migration routes following three strands of actions: prevention, response to migrant

smuggling and alternatives to irregular migration as a key deterrent for smuggling. The

European Commission is actively driving concrete initiatives and action on each of the three

strands.

In particular, on prevention, we encourage you to take part of the upcoming United National

Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Working Group on Migrant Smuggling in July 2024,

promoting the implementation of the UN Protocol on Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea

and Air globally. The Commission intends to hold a thematic meeting on the Toolbox for

transport operators in the third quarter of 2024, bringing together experts from public and

private sectors to strengthen our cooperation. On response, we notably plan to launch a

dedicated work strand on digital smuggling in cooperation with Europol and partners,

including private sectors, in the spring of 2024.

In order to provide alternatives to irregular migration, a series of roundtable meetings on

legal pathways are planned, with the first involving Bangladesh on 5 March 2024 and others

to follow on a rolling basis in the course of the year. I count on your active engagement and

participation in all these different but complimentary strands of action. A more detailed

timetable with milestone initiatives, including the next addition of the high-level International

Conference in November, follows in the Annex.

To achieve our objectives and build on our operational cooperation to enhance our

effectiveness in dismantling smuggling networks, I count on your commitment and invite you

to express interest in the different strands of work. I invite you to nominate a person of

contact at the right level and communicate the relevant details to us. On the Commission’s

side, we have put in place a functional mailbox for all correspondence at:

[email protected].

Finally, I would like to use the occasion of this letter to stress the importance of upgrading the

EU’s legal framework on anti-smuggling which is older than 20 years. Adopted on the day of

the Conference, the legislative proposals are an important building block of our

comprehensive action to fight against migrant smuggling. We aim to provide a reinforced

criminal law framework to strengthen and harmonise penalties that take account of the

seriousness of the offence, improve jurisdictional reach, and altogether reinforce Member

States’ resources and available data on this serious crime. Moreover, Europol will become a

true centre of gravity for combating the organised crime of migrant smuggling in Europe by

ensuring additional resources and better exchange of information. Putting our house in order

is crucial to send a strong message to smugglers that we are serious about fighting this crime.

Therefore, it is crucial that these proposals are adopted swiftly by the Council and the

Parliament. I count on your support to ensure that general approaches can be reached on both

proposals as soon as possible. I look forward to our debate on this in the Justice and Home

Affairs Council of 4-5 March 2024.

As a criminal activity that disrespects human life in the pursuit of significant material profit,

migrant smuggling is truly a global challenge to be addressed with global action. The

Commission will not spare its efforts in putting forward concrete initiatives and facilitating

our collective work. I equally count on your full commitment and involvement towards an

assertive and collective response.

Yours sincerely,

Ylva Johansson

Electronically signed on 28/02/2024 23:38 (UTC+01) in accordance with Article 11 of Commission Decision (EU) 2021/2121

From: Katarina Budrik <[email protected]> Sent: Thursday, February 29, 2024 1:05 PM To: Katrin Hantsom <[email protected]> Subject: FW: Follow-up on Global Alliance to Counter Migrant Smuggling Tere! Palun registreerida Deltasse ministrile suunatud kiri (vastutajaks võib panna minu ja kohe suunata ka

ministri nõunikele) Tervitades Katarina From: [email protected] <[email protected]> Sent: Thursday, February 29, 2024 11:57 AM To: Birgit Paal <[email protected]>; Julika Luts <[email protected]>; Rando Käsper <[email protected]> Subject: Follow-up on Global Alliance to Counter Migrant Smuggling Dear Sir/Madam, On behalf of the Commissioner Johansson, please find enclosed a follow-up letter on the Global Alliance to Counter Migrant Smuggling. We kindly ask you to transmit this letter to Minister Mr Lauri LÄÄNEMETS. Kind regards,

European Commission

DG Migration and Home Affairs

[email protected]

From: HOME COUNTERSMUGGLING CONF Sent: Tuesday, November 7, 2023 8:49 PM To: [email protected]; [email protected] Subject: Invitation to International Conference on a Global Alliance to counter migrant smuggling Dear Ms. Paal, dear Ms. Luts,