People smugglers: EU bids to harmonise penalties

EU governments were today due to agree a new deal on criminal penalties for people smugglers - the latest step in the fight against illegal immigration.

Home affairs ministers meeting in Brussels want to narrow the gap between prison sentences in various member states for those caught smuggling or harbouring illegal immigrants in EU countries.

They agreed earlier this year that the minimum level for the maximum jail sentence in 13 of the 15 EU member state should be eight years for those convicted of direct involvement on the ground in smuggling people through borders - the ‘‘facilitators’’.

In Sweden and Denmark, where the maximum was previously only three years the new figure was set at six years.

Now the ministers want the lowest maximum to be eight years in all member states for the masterminds behind the trafficking - those who organise smuggling rackets, often from afar, exploiting refugees and raking in the big profits.

Only Austria is holding up agreement, arguing against the eight-year ‘‘minimum-maximum’’ jail term and questioning the need for common jail standards.

The UK, represented at the talks by Home Office minister Angela Eagle, supports the use of common penalties across the EU - an approach already adopted to help tackle money laundering and counterfeiting the euro.

The human traffickers are deemed to be ‘‘those who forcibly or fraudulently exploit people’s labour or sexual services’’, as opposed to the ‘‘facilitators’’ who are paid to shepherd illegal immigrants across borders.

The move towards common EU penalty guidelines began nearly two years ago, but pressure has been mounting since the relentless rise of illegal immigrants moving across Europe, mostly desperate to reach Britain.