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In the EU, the victims of human trafficking are about 7,000 annually, and this is only the tip of the iceberg, European Commissioner for Internal Affairs Ylva Johansson announced today.

She presented proposals for changes in European rules to achieve a better fight against this phenomenon.

According to EC data, the damage caused by human trafficking in the EU is around 2.7 billion euros per year.

Johansson noted that most of the victims of trafficking are women and children, EU citizens, and most often they become victims of sexual exploitation.

The EC proposes that in future the deliberate use of services by people who are victims of trafficking, as well as forced marriages and illegal adoptions, should be declared a crime.

The number of criminals is growing, but not those accused of human trafficking, Johansson said. 

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The Commission also proposes that Eurostat collect annual data on human trafficking in the EU.

The new proposals are expected to be evaluated by the EU Council and the European Parliament.

EC data show that the most common victims of human trafficking are citizens of Romania, France, Italy, Bulgaria and Poland from EU countries, and from Nigeria, China, Moldova, Pakistan and Morocco, among other countries.

It is reported that most victims in our country are of Roma origin and most often they are subjected to forced marriages or surrogate motherhood.