Verbatim report of proceedings

Monday, 13 March 2006 - Strasbourg

17. Forced prostitution in the context of world sports events – EU measures against trafficking in human beings and the launch of an anti-trafficking day (debate)

  President. The next item is the joint debate on

- the oral question to the Commission on forced prostitution in the context of world sports events, by Anna Záborská, on behalf of the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality (O-0006/2006 B6-0008/2006),

- the oral question to the Commission on EU measures against trafficking in human beings and the launch of an anti-trafficking day, by Karin Riis-Jørgensen and Elizabeth Lynne, on behalf of the Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (O-0011/2006 B6-0011/2006),

- the oral question to the Commission on EU measures against trafficking in human beings and the launch of an anti-trafficking day, by Hiltrud Breyer, on behalf of the Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance (O-0017/2006 B6-0014/2006),

- the oral question to the Commission on EU measures against trafficking in human beings and the launch of an anti-trafficking day, by Lissy Gröner, on behalf of the Socialist Group in the European Parliament (O-0019/2006 B6-0015/2006), and

- the oral question to the Commission on EU measures against trafficking in human beings and the launch of an anti-trafficking day, by Eva-Britt Svensson, Sylvia-Yvonne Kaufmann, Kartika Tamara Liotard, Feleknas Uca, Ilda Figueiredo and Věra Flasarová, on behalf of the Confederal Group of the European United Left/Nordic Green Left (O-0021/2006 B6-0016/2006).

  Anna Záborská (PPE-DE), author. – (FR) Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, I speak today as chairman of this Parliament’s Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality. I also speak as a woman supportive of women forced into prostitution.

It is unacceptable that a woman should be forced into prostitution; it is unacceptable that she should sell her body. In actual fact, ladies and gentlemen, the news has never been so sad. In the German capital, on the outskirts of the Olympic stadium, a 3 000 square metre ‘megabrothel’ has just opened its doors to welcome 650 clients at any one time. Over 40 000 poor young women will be ‘imported’ from the East in order to satisfy the post-match requirements of the spectators of the World Cup football tournament.

The fight against trafficking in women and the fight against forced prostitution are a priority for female political representatives too, and are undoubtedly so for Angela Merkel. Let us call on her to add her voice to ours.

As political representatives from all sides, we have powerful tools available to us. Let us reject this instance of decadence and let us make ourselves heard not only here, in the European Parliament, but also in our Member States, at the Council of Europe and in all the fora in which we can make our voices heard. Let us make ourselves heard loud and clear. This is not the first time that the various United Nations bodies, the Council of Europe and the EU institutions have used sport as a vehicle for sending out a message of good citizenship and progress.

Those in power would have us believe that this state of affairs is an unfortunate coincidence. However, the lawyer working for the group that built this ‘pleasure palace’ has stated that ‘football and sex go hand in hand’. How is it that, in football’s highest governing bodies, nobody seems deeply shocked by this?

It would seem that encouraging young men to take part in brutish acts orchestrated against young women does not shock anyone and that the failure to prevent these acts and to protect the victims against this organised degeneracy is not a source of outrage. The FIFA President, Joseph Blatter, wrote to the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality saying that his organisation was not responsible for what took place outside football grounds. Neither UEFA nor the heroes of the national teams have said a word.

UEFA has set itself the task of promoting football in Europe, in a spirit of peace and without any form of discrimination. The footballing world is a man’s world: the reality inside the grounds shows this. It is men who demand the services of prostitutes and who abuse women. That is why I am addressing men too – my male fellow Members and all those men in positions of power.

To conclude, ladies and gentlemen, I would point out that we can already count on the public support of men in order to combat trafficking in women and forced prostitution.

I am grateful to our colleague, Mr Heaton-Harris, who is himself a professional soccer referee, for having made the Sports Intergroup a mouthpiece for speaking out against trafficking in women and forced prostitution. I am grateful to our colleague, Mr Coveney who, as a Member of this Chamber, oversees the work of ‘businessmen against trafficking in women’ and the ‘Stop the Traffic’ campaign.

Finally, I call on you all to support the impressive work done by the Council of Europe, which launched the first ‘agreement on the fight against trafficking in human beings’ in Warsaw on 16 May 2005: to date, only 11 of our Member States have signed this agreement. None of them has ratified it yet.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, all the legal instruments and every possible political measure must be applied in order to prevent women from being commodities whose only purpose is to act as sex workers, and this not only in Berlin but also throughout the world.

IN THE CHAIR: MRS ROTH-BEHRENDT
Vice-President

  Elizabeth Lynne (ALDE), author. – Madam President, the evil of human trafficking is a clear example of an area where the EU can and must act. That is why Karin Riis-Jørgensen and I tabled our oral question. We want answers today if at all possible.

Not enough publicity is being given to this foul trade. In many cases the victims are seen as the offenders: we must turn that around. I am pleased with the recent attention the subject has been receiving at EU level. Parliament’s own-initiative report is due; the Council adopted an action plan in December; there is the Council of Europe Convention; yet there is still little progress. There is no point in Member States talking unless urgent and concrete action is taken.

At the moment these women – and we are mainly talking of women and girls – have no guaranteed protection. They are treated as illegal immigrants and deported, and, in many cases, are retrafficked. There are actions that can be taken: they are laid down in the European Convention against Trafficking, amongst other documents. We need safe havens so that young women and girls can be protected. We need at least the 30-day breathing period that the European Convention calls for, so that these women can decide whether they will take part in the prosecution of the traffickers.

In the United Kingdom, there is only one safe haven with 25 places. It is estimated that over 1000 people per year are trafficked into the United Kingdom for sexual exploitation. The failure to tackle this problem really is not good enough. The United Kingdom and other countries must sign up to the Council of Europe Convention.

Finally, with the run-up to the World Cup in Germany, we need to do much more to make people aware. It is estimated that thousands of women and children will be trafficked during that time and used for forced prostitution. In this oral question and in this debate we are not talking about prostitution where the prostitutes know what they are doing. We are talking about a modern-day slave trade, where the women and children have no choice about whether or not they work as prostitutes. This is what today’s debate is about and we must not confuse the issues. That is why I am working in the campaign to give the red card to forced prostitution and I hope all the fans, footballers and sports associations, together with all other organisations, will get behind the campaign to stamp out this evil trade.

  Hiltrud Breyer (Verts/ALE), author. – (DE) Madam President, I hope that this resolution will end up right in the back of the net and thereby bring this issue, once and for all, out of the taboo area and into the public eye. Forced prostitution is something that nobody wants to talk about: the people engaged in it do not want to, and nor – unfortunately – do its victims. We must also make much more of an issue of the connection between migration and job creation.

The German Football Association wanted to keep this issue in the taboo zone, and our breaking through its defensive wall amounts to a massive success. As has already been said, we really do have to be firm in showing people-trafficking and forced prostitution the red card. We have to make it abundantly clear that fair play in sport involving saying a firm ‘no’ to forced prostitution. Under no circumstances whatever can it be tolerated. I have to tell Commissioner Frattini, though, that we not only have to get the criminals, the people-traffickers themselves, in our sights – although we must of course do that – but, in order to do that, we also need solutions that do not criminalise only the women involved, which is what happens at present. I hope that you will address this issue in your speech.

My expectation is that we do more than just require visas, for it would be the women who would bear the brunt of that, when what is needed instead is prevention and care and support for women. Much as is done already under Italian immigration law, we must guarantee women who are unwilling to testify as witnesses the right to remain. We need to do more if women are to be enabled to escape from forced prostitution.

  Lissy Gröner (PSE), author. – Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, the football World Cup is being held in Germany under the slogan, ‘a time to make friends’. The sporting community is getting ready for it, but so are organised gangs of traffickers – getting ready to ship thousands of women to Germany and exploit them there. These women will be enticed to Germany with false promises and then forced into prostitution. Poverty is one of the main causes of this, and that is where we must start, but making people welcome in Germany must also mean protecting women in need rather than turning a blind eye to their plight.

Up to 800 000 women worldwide fall victim to people-trafficking, and 100 000 of them come from the EU. Although nobody has any idea how many of them will be in Germany this summer, we should show the people-traffickers the red card. What I expect you to do, Commissioner Frattini, is to take the proposals that the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality put forward in the Prets report and in the plan of action against trafficking in women, and use them as the basis for practical action.

If the women’s organisations’ campaign for multilingual telephone hotlines is to be supported, it will need funding. Victim protection schemes need to be put in place. Reference has already been made to the way in which the Member States have been no more than half-hearted in their transposition of the 2002 Asylum Directive, and pressure needs to be brought to bear upon them. Belgium has said that the right to remain will be accorded to women who are willing to take the witness stand and who want to get out of prostitution, and that they will be given help in order to do that. That is quite splendid.

If the modern-day trade in women is to be effectively combated, then Europol will have to become more involved, and there are of course things that the sporting associations can do; that is why we rely on their cooperation in appealing to the fans to keep their eyes open and do their bit, as they must. To demand special visas for women is to shoot from the hip, and I am not in favour of that, so please give some more careful thought to what you propose to do.

  Eva-Britt Svensson (GUE/NGL), author. – (SV) Madam President, millions of people around the world are delighted at the prospect of the upcoming World Cup football tournament, but how many thousands of women must be sacrificed so that men can not only watch football but also purchase readily available sexual services? If a sufficient volume of sexual services is to be offered, tens of thousands of women, including many with no choice in the matter, will have to supplement the already large number of prostitutes in Germany. This trafficking in human beings is shameful and deeply inhumane. It is indicative of an oppressive view of women and also shows the low regard in which all those men who will be coming to watch football are held.

In order to put an end to the violence against women and children, responsibility for sex slavery and prostitution should be laid at the door not of the victims but of those who assume the right to buy and sell women’s bodies. ‘Forced prostitution’ may be interpreted as implying the existence of its opposite, that is to say some form of what might be called voluntary prostitution. There is, however, no such thing as voluntary prostitution. Women do not choose prostitution; they are forced into it for one reason or another. This may happen through their being victims of organised crime, but poverty and unemployment are other causes. Above all, however, there are clear links between prostitution and the fact that women have, in the past, been exposed to physical, psychological and sexual abuse.

The links between the legalisation of prostitution and the increase in trafficking for the purposes of sex slavery need to be clarified. What, for example, does the fact that prostitution is legal in Germany signify in terms of the increase in the number of victims of sex trafficking in connection with the World Cup? Legislation that permits prostitution must be evaluated and compared, for example, with the Swedish legislation that criminalises the client. The Swedish legislation has shown that, when demand is reduced, the number of victims of trafficking and prostitution decreases too. Responsibility is placed where it belongs: with the clients. It is they who must accept responsibility for their sexuality, without buying women’s bodies.

If we accept that men can assume the right to purchase women’s bodies, we are, as a consequence, forced to accept a situation in which approximately four million women and children are moved around, within and between countries, in order to be exploited sexually.

To condemn sexual exploitation and prostitution does not mean putting the blame on women working as prostitutes. Absolutely not. We want to see all women given the right to their sexuality, and on equal conditions and without being oppressed. Women are not a commodity. They are not for sale.

(Applause from various quarters)

  Franco Frattini, Vice-President of the Commission. (IT) Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, the questions posed by Mrs Záborská and by the other speakers demand a detailed response on my part: it is only right and proper that I provide some concrete answers. Sixteen different points have been addressed in the various questions, and some very precise requests made, to which I will try to respond.

More generally, I find it unthinkable that one might take advantage of a sporting event, which in principle ought to be an opportunity for promoting positive values, in order to tolerate or encourage forced prostitution. In this regard, I have heard a truly saddening reference, namely that football and sex go hand in hand, as though forced prostitution were the inevitable consequence of a large sporting event. Rather, this is the opposite of sport’s most wholesome values.

It therefore seems necessary to begin with legislation, and precisely with the relevant European legislation adopted in this context, which provides for the prosecution of those who help force people – women and children mainly, but, it must be said, men too – into prostitution.

As you are aware, a European framework decision exists, while on the subject of Germany, there is currently a national law in place that entered into force in 2005; in other words, it is a fully applicable law. We will also prepare a report to the Council and to Parliament before the end of April on the application of the framework decision on trafficking in human beings and on the criminal prosecution measures so as to ensure that all of the Member States have adopted national laws transposing this framework decision before the World Cup football championship takes place.

Among the most important rules is one that requires the Member States to prosecute those responsible in their countries of origin and not in the country in which they committed their crimes. The framework decision stipulates this with the aim of ensuring that trials are actually carried out and that criminal penalties are imposed.

After the report has been presented, between now and the end of April, the Council – and Parliament too, if it considers that it will be useful – will be able to thoroughly address the topic of the latest measures that could be adopted at European level, or rather at European legislative level. I believe that in relation to these measures, we ought to consider – even if we do not give a definitive answer right now – whether we should punish those who, as customers, take advantage of people’s services, knowing that these people have been victims of force and even in some cases of a genuine trafficking operation that has led them into slavery.

Obviously, the issue of the legality of prostitution is addressed in the Member States in very different ways. Nevertheless, I believe that if the customer is aware that the person with whom he is talking is a victim of trafficking, of force or of coercion, then he must think twice about what he is doing, including from the point of view of a possible criminal penalty.

The role of Europol and Eurojust in this area must clearly be developed. Among the priority issues that I raised when I met the President of Eurojust and the Director of Europol was precisely that of strengthening Europol’s and Eurojust’s capacities in terms of the application of the action plan against trafficking in human beings that we presented, as this Parliament will recall, at the end of last year. Europol can play a very important role in the coordination of European measures to combat these abhorrent types of crime. We have already successfully combated paedophilia, having succeeded thanks to action by Europol aimed at dismantling a paedophile network in 13 European countries; this is another area that needs to be followed up.

There is, then, the specific issue of the World Cup in Germany: I had made a promise to this Parliament, when this topic was first discussed, that I would formally involve the German Federal Minister of the Interior. I obviously did so, and Minister Schäuble, whom I approached, replied to me a few days ago formally assuring me that not only will the federal law in force be rigorously applied, but that it will also be specifically accompanied by prevention initiatives on the ground in all of the German cities involved in staging the football matches.

I can therefore confidently state that the German Federal Government, on the word of its Minister of the Interior, not only assures us that it will fully cooperate, but also calls for the Council of Interior Ministers, which is due to meet in April, to examine the issue with the aim of developing an operational strategy. It will be a non-legislative strategy in this case, but a truly operational one in terms of prevention on the ground, with the aim of preventing the sporting event from being used for the purposes of transferring a huge number of victims of this abhorrent trafficking.

At this point, I should like to make two remarks concerning the practical measures that I, in my capacity as a Commission representative, intend to present to the April summit of the Council of Interior Ministers. As regards the issue of visas, first of all, I would like to make it very clear in particular to Mrs Gröner – but also to those who wrote me letters after the seminar of 8 March – that I have never intended, wanted or planned to introduce visas for women. Visas are not introduced by category of person; visas are governed by country and by nationality. I had announced the plan to assess whether some non-EU countries, which are significantly at risk, are currently not subject to the visa requirement and therefore whether it might be advisable to temporarily extend the visa requirement for a country that is the source of a likely trafficking operation; this obviously did not include women. I apologise if I was misinterpreted at the seminar of 8 March.

I have looked into this matter and I can also give you the answer: according to police data, all of the flows of trafficked persons that originate from countries outside the European Union are subject to the visa requirement. It will not, therefore, be necessary to make changes to the current visa system simply because all the non-EU countries that, according to the statistics, are ‘at risk’ are already covered by the visa requirement. In any case, it was never a question of introducing a visa requirement for women, but merely of providing for more checks on some countries. There is no problem, but it is clear – and I will submit a proposal to the Council along these lines – that consulates need to carry out more checks in terms of ascertaining visiting groups’ actual purposes of travel, since it is obvious that those who traffic women for sexual purposes declare, or make the women declare, false reasons.

It is therefore incumbent on border guards and consulates to carry out the checks – something that requires cooperation among all of the EU Member States – and they will have to be enhanced checks to ascertain the veracity of the declared objectives. As you know, people often declare that they are visiting a country purely for tourism, which is a lie. In-depth checks are necessary.

Furthermore, it is clear that, as some of you have suggested, practical victim support measures are crucial. Personally, I support the idea of promoting dedicated telephone lines, that is to say telephone lines that, by means of a simultaneous interpreting service, can offer immediate assistance in as many foreign languages as possible.

Obviously, this relates to both the period during which the World Football Cup takes place and the period that follows: measures such as these cannot stop in July 2006. These measures providing immediate and operational support can be considered well and truly as part of European action, thanks to the projects and the funding that Europe can allocate to practical proposals of this kind.

Another measure that I consider necessary is a comparative study of all of the Member States’ laws on prostitution and on the connection between prostitution – where it is legal – and trafficking in human beings for sexual purposes. There is clearly a link between the rise in demand and, shall we say, the incentive for traffickers to carry out this shameful activity. There exists a study promoted by this very Parliament, which is precisely a study on transnational crime. On the basis of that very study, I intend to propose carrying out a comparative study in order to have a clearer insight into what constitutes the link between the rise in demand and the rise in trafficking.

Naturally, still in the scope of the Daphne programmes, it will be possible for the European Union to cofinance initiatives on this issue with the aim of increasing the public’s awareness of the need to reduce the demand for prostitution. In fact, reducing the demand for prostitution limits or helps limit trafficking of persons for sexual purposes.

Another proposal that can be made relates to more in-depth contact with local governments, regional governments and town councils. It is clear that phenomena such as these are present throughout the EU and, as you know, a European Crime Prevention Network does in fact exist. We will see whether it will be possible for this European network or other systems to enable local governments to become more involved in the activity of prevention, on the one hand, and of helping the victims of trafficking, on the other.

In terms of victim support, there is also the application of the rules that were cited just now, which place in a certain category female victims and those who are, in general, victims of trafficking in human beings or of forced prostitution. In the aforementioned European legislation, it is specifically the European directive of 2004 that guarantees the granting of residence permits, as someone requested a short while ago, and you are aware that the Member States can transpose the European directive until 6 August 2006: fortunately some Member States have already done so and, in order to give a little encouragement to the Member States that have not done so by spring, in other words much earlier than August, I shall convene a technical meeting with the representatives of all of the Member States in order to understand which problems have, to date, prevented the transposition of that directive into national law and in order to formally request, before the deadline expires, that, by August, all of the Member States guarantee the victims of sexual exploitation and of trafficking in human beings the preferential treatment stipulated by the European legislation.

Other important questions remain, such as the need for real statistical data on the phenomenon. As I had already mentioned, we intend to launch a debate, accompanied by an appropriate publication, in a few weeks’ time, and we will present a European communication on a typology of European statistical data on crime, with specific reference to this type of crime, so that we can at least be certain that we have reliable statistical data on the phenomenon, on its victims, on the complaints lodged and on the penalties imposed.

Obviously, this is not an initiative dedicated solely to the World Cup championship in Germany; it is a necessary initiative in the medium-term. Madam President, I am about to conclude, and I apologise for the length of my speech, but there were 16 different points and I should not like it if one of the speakers were to say later on that I had not provided answers.

We will promote a programme in order to increase awareness of the phenomenon at European level. I am personally in favour of the idea of a European day against trafficking in human beings and forced prostitution and, in a few weeks’ time, I intend to organise a technical seminar – which will obviously be open to everyone – for exchanging best practices with a view to preventing this phenomenon. Thank you.

  President. Thank you, Commissioner. Your obvious engagement made it impossible for me to interrupt you when your allotted ten minutes of speaking time were up. It would have broken my heart to interrupt you. However, we are running out of time and we must move on quickly.

  Nicole Fontaine, on behalf of the PPE-DE Group. – (FR) Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, it has taken the civilised world thousands of years to eradicate the slave trade, inhuman working conditions and female submission, not to mention the death penalty, even though these battles are still not over.

The century that has just dawned must be the one in which this new form of slavery that is forced prostitution and that each year claims thousands of women and children as victims is banished from our societies. That is the message constituted by the oral questions submitted today by our Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality.

The European Parliament – I am pleased to point out – is in fact identified throughout Europe and much further afield as a tireless defender of the universal values of the human person and of human dignity. By voting overwhelmingly in favour of Mrs Prets’ report on 16 January, we have already sent a very powerful signal to which you were not averse, Mr Frattini, as confirmed – if confirmation were needed - by your remarks of a moment ago.

Our oral questions today follow on from our vote in January and from our action of 8 March, and once again show our indignation. We are deeply shocked that preparations are being made for the forthcoming World Cup with a blind eye being turned not only to the construction, but also to the commercial promotion, of a place that some even dare to boast will be the largest brothel in the world. As you in fact said, Mr Frattini, it is unacceptable that international sporting competitions should have thus become outlets for forced and organised prostitution.

Mr Frattini, however strong our protests may be, they are not enough, and you have understood that. We are grateful to you for having replied to the majority of the questions we put to you. With the World Cup taking place in Germany very soon, this is a pressing issue. All of the initiatives that you have just mentioned are excellent, but I would draw your attention to the fact that they need to be in place in good time. That is why close monitoring is needed. For its part, the European Parliament will do everything in its power to help achieve this.

  Christa Prets, on behalf of the PSE Group. – (DE) Madam President, Commissioner, I am glad that many of the proposals that we incorporated into my report have been adopted. It is important that the general public should become aware of this debate. If this is to happen, figures and statistics will be vital, and they need to be arrived at using common rules, not only within the European Union, but also in third countries, for we know that visitors will be coming from them. These, then, should be included as well.

Much as I welcome the Commissioner’s intention to have a study produced on the effects of prostitution on the traffic in human beings, this should not consider only legal prostitution, but also the illegal variety. Questions also have to be asked about the situation in countries in which prostitution is banned. And what about the mobility of prostitutes’ clients? Any study must also take account of that.

You have already explained what you intend to do by imposing a visa requirement for the World Cup. I assume – and hope – that you want to tighten up controls on the grant of visas rather than to bring in a temporary visa, for then the question would arise of when one should begin and when it should expire. The reason why we are taking the World Cup as an opportunity is because general public interest in it will enable us to make them aware of how this problem fits into it. Forced prostitution, though, is also to be found going on at congresses, trade fairs, and even here in Strasbourg when this House is in session. This is what makes the introduction of temporary visa requirements so problematic.

I would ask you to decide what your priorities at the April Council meeting in Brussels are going to be. Austria will have to prepare itself to deal with this problem if it is going to host the European Championships in 2008. That is why good suggestions are vital; we could all do with some.

Although you stressed the importance of Europol, what that means in plain language is that Europol must be given not only more staff but also more powers, or else the whole thing will not be workable. There is much more to be said on this subject, but perhaps other Members will be the ones to say it.

  Maria Carlshamre, on behalf of the ALDE Group. – Madam President, we are at a crossroads in the fight against trafficking in human beings. Last week on 8 March, and again now, Commissioner Frattini announced that an extensive study will be launched this year on how laws on prostitution affect the situation of trafficking in the different Member States. That is indeed good news.

In September last year, the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality presented a similar, smaller, study on the issue. It was the first of its kind. That study gave us a strong indication that criminalising the demand for trafficking has a very strong impact and that it substantially lowers the number of girls and young women being trafficked. Legalisation, on the other hand, has the opposite effect. It increases the number of victims of trafficking.

The figures also show clearly that not only does the legalisation of prostitution increase the legal part of the business, it also increases illegal prostitution. With the forthcoming study by the Commission we will strengthen the factual basis for measures against trafficking, especially criminalising the demand. This is no longer just an issue of different opinions; it is an issue of facts. I warmly welcome Commissioner Frattini’s work on the issue. Do we really want to fight trafficking? There is a way. Are we brave enough?

  Margrete Auken, on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group. – (DA) Madam President, personally, I do not care for the expression ‘forced prostitution’ because all prostitution is more or less forced, but our group naturally supports the resolution put forward. Trafficking in human beings is slave trafficking. It is discriminatory and shameful and a disgusting crime. It is crucial that we do more to help this extremely weak and vulnerable group of trafficked children and women.

On my own behalf, I should also like to welcome the fact that a thorough debate on prostitution in general is taking place. It is important that we dispense with the myth of the happy prostitute. The majority of prostitutes live miserable lives, exposed to the risks of, for example, assault, rape and sexually transmitted diseases. In no other area of our society is it accepted that a person’s working life might inflict such tremendous harm on them. Who, moreover, among those present in this Chamber would be pleased if his or her daughter were to become a prostitute? This is a debate that we must, then, make sure gets under way.

  Vittorio Agnoletto, on behalf of the GUE/NGL Group. – (IT) Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, the World Cup in Germany is an opportunity to tackle the issue of the exploitation of human beings.

In my opinion, we need to support the initiatives put forward by the Commission in relation to women’s rights. I support the idea of launching an information and educational campaign designed to combat the phenomenon of sexual exploitation.

Initiatives need to be undertaken at European level, including through the use of international instruments such as the Council of Europe Convention, but it is just as important to make a clear distinction between the world of forced prostitution and those who freely choose to work as prostitutes. There are, in fact, associations of female and male prostitutes; one such association came here to Parliament in order to call for the recognition of their profession, beginning with the introduction of a Charter of Rights and of a declaration of principles.

There would appear to be a need, in political terms, to establish whether a woman who is not forced to prostitute herself should or should not be free to do so. Recognising voluntary prostitution and the laws governing a profession means recognising a series of rights and duties; among the rights – to mention a few – are those of living freely and safely, of carrying out one’s job free from slavery and of marrying, given that this is not permitted in some countries.

(The President cut off the speaker)

  Urszula Krupa, on behalf of the IND/DEM Group. – (PL) Madam President, today’s debate on trafficking in human beings and forced prostitution in the context of world sports events illustrates the tragedy of the thousands of exploited women traded in the sex industry. It also illustrates the absurdity of a liberal understanding of freedom according to which one is free to do anything one likes. This kind of licence leads directly to killing, the spread of diseases, drug addiction, prostitution, pornography and other ills.

Genuine freedom makes sense when it is at the service of truth and love. This means that violence, manipulation and deceit must be perceived as destructive and unacceptable, and that prostitution must be perceived as exploitation of the individual. The use of the so-called red card to combat forced prostitution and deal with this contemporary form of slavery seems rather an ineffective and disjointed approach in the context of liberal propaganda. Legal restrictions are needed.

  Jan Tadeusz Masiel (NI). – (PL) Madam President, I was in Belgium in 1999 and witnessed the treatment meted out to a Polish woman who had been raped by an Albanian. This woman was ordered to leave the country after she filed a complaint with the police. The fate of the rapist is unknown. He might well have got away scot-free as he was a poor candidate for political asylum. The unfortunate victim of the rape did not, however, receive any kind of compensation or psychological support even though this could have been made available to her. It was impossible to help the victim because she was given three days’ notice to leave the country.

Consequently, it is important to grant special status to the victims of violence, rape and forced prostitution, allowing them temporary residence in the country concerned and some financial support.

  Edit Bauer (PPE-DE). – (SK) Madam President, Commissioner, trafficking in human beings is without question a fundamental abuse of human rights and one of the most wretched phenomena of the present day world. This modern form of slavery that we are witnessing should not be part of any civilised society. The trafficking is extensive in scale and takes its toll on hundreds of thousands of victims in Europe. It is estimated that the number of sexually abused women and girls amounts to 85% of all the victims.

In this context, I would like to comment on two issues. The European Convention against Trafficking serves as a legal instrument, but the Council of Europe’s website offers information indicating that thirteen European countries, EU Member States, have failed to sign this Convention, and none of the countries has ratified it so far. Even the European Community has not signed this document. How is Mr Frattini, the responsible Commissioner, going to deal with this issue? Secondly, I would like to question how we can fight effectively against human trafficking if demand goes essentially unnoticed, apart from some cases, and if these services continue to be tolerated. According to some analyses, Europeans spend billions of euros for such services and, as a result, demand becomes the driving force of this successful business.

I am looking forward to the strategy and the promised communication on action plans to combat human trafficking which, in my opinion, will offer an appropriate setting for continuing our discussion on these serious matters and for expressing our views.

  Martine Roure (PSE). – (FR) Madam President, in many countries, thousands of women are exploited and forced into prostitution, and the ones subjected to this forced prostitution are mostly young and vulnerable.

The weakest ones are controlled by pimps, who keep watch over them and who punish them physically, financially and psychologically; death threats are often made. One might wonder, therefore, why these women do not inform against their pimps. They are sometimes bound by love, but more often than not by fear. These helpless women thus accept this nightmare because they no longer have any choices.

For some, there is a stage of prostitution that is almost congenial. However, we are now increasingly seeing – but not really registering – this new kind of slave pacing up and down our streets. If the girl does not work enough, she suffers a torrent of physical abuse. The pimp puts constant pressure on her to encourage her to work. In circumstances in which prostitution is legal, the pimp defends the girl, puts her in touch with brothel-keepers and forces her to submit to the demands of the environment to which he belongs. In order to achieve his aims, he uses seduction, threats and violence. The victim is forced to hand over her earnings either directly or through a third party.

Subjected to violence as they are, these young women must settle large debts in order to cover the cost of their journeys and their identity papers. Staying illegally in a country, more often than not deprived of their money, they no longer have any hope of seeing their situations improve. When they resist the pressure of the traffickers, they, their children or their families are threatened. There is no way out of this situation, and the nature of the environment in which they work often makes them sink into drug addiction.

No one can wash their hands of a tragedy such as this. We have a duty: that of combating this vile business, as others have combated slavery, racism and arbitrary imprisonment. This debate concerns all of us, in all of the European countries.

   Milan Horáček (Verts/ALE). – (DE) Madam President, it is very important that the issue of how to combat the traffic in people, and in women, be debated before the football World Cup kicks off in Germany. We are talking here in terms of thousands of additional prostitutes, most of whom will be working against their will and as a result of coercion. My many years of experience with NGOs working in the field of child prostitution on the borders between the Czech Republic, Germany and Austria lead me to believe that these crimes can be dealt with only by improving the laws, by giving more powers to the various institutions and authorities, and by cross-border cooperation with Central and Eastern Europe. In the longer term, though, it will be necessary to combat poverty and mount information campaigns in order to send forced prostitution off the field for good. Instituting an Anti-Trafficking Day will make people more aware of this problem.

  Johannes Blokland (IND/DEM). – (NL) Madam President, the questions tabled are commendable for the way in which they address the issues of people-trafficking and prostitution. I particularly – and wholeheartedly – endorse the demand for an inquiry into the relation between these issues and those about the course of affairs surrounding the football World Cup. I thought Commissioner Frattini’s response was excellent. I am delighted that the Commission is prepared to mount a comparative inquiry into the way in which Member States treat prostitution in legal and practical terms and into the impact of that policy.

I would ask Commissioner Frattini also to take into consideration the extent of transparency and controllability of prostitution, the extent of forced prostitution, opportunities for prostitutes to leave the profession and the demand for prostitution. I would be interested to learn something of how the adverse effects of prostitution can be controlled most effectively. I should like to conclude by saying that I am delighted with the tone of this debate.

  Christa Klaß (PPE-DE). – (DE) Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, a friend of my 20-year-old daughter recently told me, jumping for joy, that she had got herself a job as a hostess at the World Cup. When I asked her how this had come about, she – a sporty lass – told me that she had got the job by applying to the German Sports Association.

In this instance, I am sure that this is a proper job offer, but imagine that you live in poverty and your daughter announces that she has the chance, this summer, to travel to Germany, where a super job is waiting for her. Of course, as a mother or father, you rejoice at every opportunity your child gets, but who actually considers the risks involved or investigates whether the offer is genuine? That is just one of the many possible ways in which these things can happen.

Providing information where people are is where we must start – the Commissioner has referred to the many surveys that have been conducted – but we must make people, whether parents or children, aware of the dangers inherent in every such questionable offer. We know that there is a spectacular increase in the demand for sexual services during major events like this, and, of course, in the incidence of criminal activities such as people-trafficking and forced prostitution.

Only a very few women and children work without being in a brothel or managed by a pimp. Thousands are brought here from Central and Eastern Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America, attracted by false information and driven by poverty at home and by the need to feed their families. They come here and are broken, and exploited, in the most brutal fashion, so that they end up losing their dignity and their self-respect.

Quite apart from providing information on the ground, there are things we have to do in the country in which the events are being held, things such as public relations work and a 24-hour multilingual telephone hotline – all these things are under consideration, and that is why we support these actions. Now in particular, at a time when the World Cup is being played for, we need to show the red card. Let us talk about how to do that.

  Katerina Batzeli (PSE). – (EL) Madam President, the phenomenon of trafficking in and the movement of women is a problem with global dimensions which arises even more acutely during the organisation of sports events. Obviously, with this problem, there can be no discrimination between forced and 'voluntary' prostitution, because both forms have the same root: they are caused by deep poverty and social exclusion, phenomena which lead women to the limits of exploitation. However, from a legal point of view also, when the victim comes before the courts, how can a distinction be made between forced prostitution and prostitution and how can sanctions be imposed on the person behind them?

It is vital that it be made clear that sports events must be safeguarded in the conscience of all of us as roadmaps of values and cultures. Each and everything that sullies such cultural meetings must be abolished. I believe that the proposals you just mentioned, Mr Frattini, and Mrs Prets' proposals, lay down a serious framework at European and international level.

  Carlos Coelho (PPE-DE). – (PT) Madam President, Mr Frattini, ladies and gentlemen, I should like to thank Mr Frattini for the attention he has given to the issue of trafficking in human beings. This is one of the most appalling manifestations of international crime. It is a serious breach of human rights and of the laws on immigration and work, and has a highly detrimental effect on national and international security.

There has been alarming growth in this type of crime, and according to UN figures, it has become the third most lucrative activity in organised crime. This is a transnational phenomenon that is a major concern for a great many countries, be they countries of origin, transit or destination.

What is needed is therefore an across-the-board, coordinated strategy, involving increased efforts at both legislative and operation levels. At legislative level, the adoption in 2002 of the framework decision approximating the criminal provisions of the Member States and applicable penalties, and enabling judges from one Member State to issue a European Arrest Warrant relating to criminals involved in the trafficking of human beings was an important step.

This framework decision was supposed to have been transposed by August 2004. We are still awaiting a report assessing the measures adopted by the Member States and on whether or not it has been implemented by all Member States.

On the operational side, I feel that the main priorities are the strengthening of Europol, which is currently underused; rapid, comprehensive reaction in support of victims, whereby victims can be offered immediate assistance; and improved exchange of information and statistical data, to which you referred earlier, Commissioner.

  Edite Estrela (PSE). – (PT) Madam President, Mr Frattini, ladies and gentlemen, trafficking in human beings is a scourge that must be combated by all means at our disposal. Every year, more than 700 000 women and children are caught by networks of traffickers. In Europe alone, 100 000 women are victims of trafficking every year and subjected to acts that impinge on their physical integrity and mental health.

The trafficking of women and children is the most rapidly rising form of crime and it is known that the problem is worse during major sporting events. The trafficking of women is linked to illegal immigration. Thousands of poor women are lured by the promise of a decent, well-paid job, only to be forced subsequently into prostitution.

In light of what has already been said, the football World Cup provides the Commission with an opportunity to set a valuable precedent in combating the trafficking and sexual exploitation of women, by means of programmes aimed at the social inclusion and rehabilitation of women, along with legal, medical, psychological and language assistance.

  Manolis Mavrommatis (PPE-DE). – (EL) Madam President, the exploitation of women and children through forced prostitution, on the occasion of and centred around major sports events, is one of the scourges of our times. At a time when gender equality, freedom of thought and human rights are the focal point of our interest and thoughts, I consider the fact that the open borders of the free and democratic European Union provide the opportunity and offer asylum to organised crime in the form of the forced prostitution of women and children to be an insult.

The numbers, on the occasion of the World Cup in Germany, beggar belief. It is impossible to imagine the forty, fifty or one hundred thousand women and children from throughout the world who will flood the European country in a common action, women and children who, because of their poverty and the inability of world public opinion to address the problem, will be sacrificed at the altar of commercial sex as prostitutes.

Commissioner, offering advice or passing national legislation is not enough to combat this phenomenon. It is not enough to prevent serious diseases which threaten health as a result of commercial sex by relying on the free distribution of thousands or millions of condoms, as we have seen at major sports events. It is our duty not to tacitly legalise the humiliation of women and children who, with society, are being thrown to the lions of commercial interest by abusive prostitution.

I should like to finish, Commissioner, by mentioning that you proposed 25 March as an international anti-trafficking day during your recent visit to Athens. I would like to ask you to postpone this by one day, as 25 March is a national holiday in Greece, one of the biggest celebrations in our history. We respect women, but we also respect national holidays. Thank you in advance.

IN THE CHAIR: MR ONYSZKIEWICZ
Vice-President

  President. Pursuant to Rule 108(5) of the Rules of Procedure, I have received one motion for a resolution⁽¹⁾.

The debate is closed.

The vote will take place on Wednesday at 11.30 a.m.

Written statement (Rule 142)

  Godfrey Bloom (IND/DEM). – People trafficking, or slavery as we used to call it, stamped out by the British Empire with the force of the Royal Navy behind it, is now a sad fact of life under the new Brussels Empire. This despicable trade is being unwittingly fostered by a policy agenda governed by man-hating lesbians with no knowledge or understanding of the real world. If you doubt this click on to their website and make your own judgement.

(1) See Minutes.