The European Parliament's Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) requested the European Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS) to provide a targeted substitute impact assessment of the European Commission's proposed regulation (COM(2023) 754). The regulation, which aims to strengthen police cooperation and Europol's role in combating migrant smuggling and human trafficking, was introduced on 28 November 2023 without a supporting impact assessment. The absence of a formal impact assessment exacerbated concerns regarding the possible long-term effects on fundamental rights and the criminalisation of humanitarian aid and solidarity efforts.

As part of this study, the EPRS examined the interplay between the Facilitation Directive and the aforementioned proposal. The EPRS noted that the definition of criminal offences in the proposed directive extends the scope to non-organised crime activities, equating all facilitation of irregular migration with migrant smuggling, regardless of any link to organised crime. It recommended clarifying the scope of criminal offences in the directive by explicitly defining organised crime in relation to Europol's mandate, ensuring that only activities involving organised criminal networks are included.

The EPRS also emphasised that the directive fails to include an explicit and mandatory exemption for persons seeking international protection and migrants subject to smuggling. It suggested explicitly exempting from criminalisation humanitarian assistance and actions aligned with international protection, such as mutual aid between smuggled migrants.

For further information, please read the EPRS study attached below.