EU to warn Romania and Bulgaria over human trafficking

An EU Commission report is set warn the governments of Bulgaria and Romania that if reforms do not speed up then their entry into the EU could be delayed from 2007 to 2008. One of the areas that is mentioned as being in need of attention is the fight against human trafficking. The report states that more has to be done to fight corruption in government and the judicial system. Corruption is one of the main factors which allows human traffickers to operate as it enables criminals to bribe police and also to obtain visas and passports for their victims.
Romania is a source and transit country for people being trafficked into forced labour, sexual exploitation and begging. The destinations for victims from Romania are mainly Spain, France and Italy. Accession to the EU would, at least initially, make such trafficking a lot easier as borders opened up.
Although Bulgarian citizens are trafficked into sexual exploitation, Bulgaria is mainly a transit country for people from Russia, Moldova, Ukraine and central Asian countries who are trafficked into sexual exploitation in the EU and also in South Eastern Europe. Again, without reform, entry into the EU would make trafficking easier.