Keynote speech by President von der Leyen at the International Conference on a Global Alliance to Counter Smuggling

"Check against delivery"

Ministers,

Commissioners,

Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

We are here today because we have all heard their stories. We have heard the stories of the survivors. Young men, amassed in the back of trucks across the desert, with no food, no air, and only a few bottles of dirty water. Young women, abused over and over again along the route. We have heard the stories of victims of migrant smugglers. We have heard the stories of smugglers who got rich on the back of their victims. And there are many other stories that we will never know because they ended in tragedy in the desert's sand or at the bottom of the sea. Today, we gather here in Brussels from different continents and different backgrounds. But whether we represent countries of origin, transit or destination for migrants, we all share the same desire. We are here to fight this criminal business, to stop this unspeakable suffering. We are here to build a Global Alliance against the smuggling of human beings.

We all know how difficult this work can be. But progress is possible. And where we have managed to join forces, within Europe, with countries near and far, and with international organisations, progress is already happening. In September, I was on the island of Lampedusa, one of the gateways between Europe and Africa. I saw the unseaworthy boats that the smugglers are providing, causing the death of so many innocent people. I saw the dire situation of migrants who survived the dangerous trip. I saw the incredible solidarity of local people, as well as their exhaustion of yet another crisis.

Since then, we have managed to improve the situation, with hard work on a ten-point plan. We joined forces with Italy, UN agencies and Tunisia. Crisis management is important but not enough. We have to build a systemic response that puts migrant smugglers out of business and prevents the loss of life. This is the logic behind the anti-smuggling operational partnerships that we have established in these years. First, with our friends in the Western Balkans, who are not just neighbours but future members of our Union. And then with some key countries around our borders. For instance, with Morocco and Tunisia. But there is also room for a much broader global cooperation.

The criminal organisations that manage migrant smuggling are international in nature. They operate across borders, all along the routes that lead from the countries of origin to the final destination of migrants. We need to tackle every link of these criminal chains. Their business is very often diversified, and half of migrant smuggling networks are also involved in the traffic of drugs, firearms and human beings. They do not only exploit human suffering, but they also represent a broader security threat. This is why we want to establish new bilateral partnerships and operational task forces, focusing on all routes where this criminal trade takes place.

But we also need a Global Alliance, with a common governance and shared goals. It should be global not only in a geographical sense but also in its scope. By focusing on prevention, on response and on legal alternatives to the deadly smuggling routes. And this is the spirit that has driven us in organising this conference.

The first track we will work on is to prevent and dissuade people from entrusting their life to smugglers. The best way to avoid violence and death along the route is to avoid that the dangerous trip takes place. This involves cooperation on border management and intelligence sharing. But also ‘soft' tools such as information campaigns, and a new focus on the so-called digital smuggling. Most irregular crossings today are advertised on social media, organised on messaging apps and paid for by digital money transfer. And this can only be addressed at the international level, by working with internet companies. So, together we can prevent people from putting their life in the hands of ruthless criminals.

Second, we must be tough and united in our response to the crime of smuggling. We must all put in place the right legislation. We must get our law enforcement agencies and prosecution services to work together. We must seize the assets used by criminals. We must shut down the international supply chains and financial flows of criminal groups. And we can only do this together. We all have something to learn and something to share.

Here in Europe, we are working right now to update our anti-smuggling legislation, which is 20 years old. We will update the definition of the crime of migrant smuggling, toughen our sanctions and extend our jurisdictional reach. We also want to improve cooperation between Member States and our agencies with a single European Centre against Migrant Smuggling to coordinate activities and share information in Europol. We will set up operational task forces, including with partner countries, and Europol will deploy staff to reinforce Member States' capacity on the ground. The smuggling networks are constantly evolving. And so must our response.

As we update our own legislation to prevent and respond to migrant smuggling, we also want to step up our cooperation with international partners. And here, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has a central role to play. You are the guardians of the UN Convention Against Transnational Organised Crime, which entered into force 20 years ago in Palermo. Today, we want to support you even more, both to accompany signatories with legal and technical assistance and to bring more countries on board. Together we can make sure that we all have the right tools to go after these criminal networks.

Finally, we must offer more legal alternatives to the people who want to seek fortune abroad. This is an interest we all share. In Europe, labour and skills shortages have reached record levels. In other continents, there are millions of people who seek to work and learn. And we must manage this in a way that is safe, humane and mutually beneficial. With job-matching initiatives, such as the EU Talent Pool, which the Commission recently proposed. With circular routes, where people move, train and bring their new expertise back home. We want people to travel and to follow their dreams. But this mobility must be managed by the law, not by the smugglers. This is why we are creating Talent Partnerships with Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt, Bangladesh and Pakistan. And we can grant more opportunities for people to come to Europe legally.

This goes in parallel to strengthening cooperation on return of irregular migrants. These two need to go hand in hand. The better we are in legal migration, the more convincing we can be in preventing irregular migration.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Most countries are at the same time countries of origin, transit and destination for migrants. We are all different, but we are all together in this. And we can all learn from each other. So this conference shall not be a one-off event. We will set up expert groups at technical level and take forward work on the three strands of the Conference. We will then gather again in one year from now and take stock. It is the beginning of a common path. And this is why we are proposing to agree on a call to action, open to all who want to join us in this mission. It is a call to all of us: EU institutions and agencies, governments and national authorities, international organisations and online platforms. We need to pull our weight together if we are to be effective. With the Global Alliance, we can start a new era of cooperation and give a better chance to millions of people.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

In human history, people have always moved. But never before has the smuggling business been so profitable, and so deadly. Human mobility is a fact of life. Migrant smuggling should not be. It can be defeated. It is a matter of political will. And we can only succeed together.

Thank you all for being here, and welcome to the International Conference to Counter Migrant Smuggling.