Justice and Home Affairs - Socialists pressing for action against trafficking of women

27 April 2006

Socialist and Social Democratic Justice and Home Affairs Ministers will be urging the EU Justice and Home Affairs Council to take action to prevent the mass trafficking of women into Germany to work as prostitutes during this summer's football World Cup.

The Party of European Socialists is holding a pre-meeting to the Justice and Home Affairs Council in Luxembourg on the morning of Thursday 27 April - attended by Ministers and advisors from Sweden, Luxembourg, Hungary, Portugal, Finland and Bulgaria - to discuss what actions the EU should take.

Trafficking of people is on the agenda for debate at the Council meeting on Thursday with a presentation by Europol. Socialist Ministers will work to ensure that the Council decisions include actions to prevent the trafficking of women to work as prostitutes during this summer's football World Cup in Germany.

In a letter to Justice Ministers from all PES member parties,  Poul Nyrup Rasmussen (President of the PES) , Zita Gurmai (President of PES Women) and Inger Segelström (Vice President of PES Women) call for closer cooperation between German authorities, Europol and national police authorities across Europe to put in place specific measures to target the criminal gangs responsible for trafficking.

"Although some people are in denial about this abuse of women" said Zita Gurmai, President of PES Women, "the fact is that so-called performance boxes, wooden huts with beds, are being built around stadiums in different cities across Germany to meet the extra demand for prostitution. This demand will be met, at least in part, by illegally trafficking women into Germany to work as prostitutes. It is a crime, akin to slavery, which should be prevented. Responsibility lies not just with the German authorities but with all European countries to work together."

Poul Nyrup Rasmussen "Decent people feel nothing but revulsion at the trafficking of women for sexual exploitation. It should be higher up the law enforcement agenda - not only for the World Cup but in the long-term. There is a need for immediate action now, as well as a more considered reflection on how Europe can stamp out this evil trade. There has to be a debate on reducing demand for prostitution as well as tackling the trafficking gangs."         

The PES collected a petition signed by over 22,000 people calling for European action to prevent the trafficking of women to work as prostitutes during the World Cup in Germany. Signatories included Prime Ministers Tony Blair, José Luis Zapatero, José Sócrates, Göran Persson, Ferenc Gyurcsány, Jiří Paroubek, Sergei Stanishev and other prominent centre left leaders including Eero Heinäluoma, Elio Di Rupo, George Papandreou, François Hollande, Josep Borrell, Romano Prodi and Massimo D'Alema.

More information: Julian Scola, Press Officer, Party of European Socialists, mobile +32 486 117 394,