What is the impact of international refugee laws on the incidence of human trafficking on the eastern border of the EU?

Introduction
States in South- and Central-Eastern Europe find themselves at the confluence of major migratory
and transit routes from the Southern part to the Northwest. Migration through the complicated area
is frequently erratic. People cross borders without permission or forged documents (İçduygu,
2021). It might happen with the help of intermediaries who are either part of or not part of
trafficking groups. It might also be part of an all-inclusive initiative that begins in a distant country
of origin and ends in a land of destination in central or eastern Europe (Koser, 2011). Since the
recent Syria crisis, the Western Balkan route has become a critical migratory and smuggling route.
However, after 2015, and especially after the EU–Turkey agreement in 2016, more migrants have
begun to use the Eastern Balkan and Eastern Borders routes. On both roads, one can see an almost
three-decade-old practice of migrant trafficking. Migrants, refugees, and traffickers seeking to
escape the Southwestern, Northern, and Eastern Mediterranean paths may find these routes
appealing (Lumley-Sapanski, Schwarz, and Valverde-Cano, 2021). The countries affected by both
ways do not constitute a unified front. The first cluster consists of Central and Eastern European
countries. In the 1990s, visa trafficking fueled a robust Smuggling of Migrants (SoM) sector for
regionals in both nations. Currently, Hungary and Romania are experiencing an influx of transit
refugees entering via Turkey and bypassing Greece (Jandl, 2007). Despite knowing all the
trafficking routes, why didn’t the EU stop it? What legislative measure does it take to reduce it?
All these questions are essential to discuss. Therefore, this research will dig deep into these
questions to find what the EU has done to reduce human trafficking.
Research Aim
This research aims to find the impact of international refugee laws on the incidence of human
trafficking on the eastern border of the EU.
Research Objectives
• To find whether the EU considers human trafficking a human rights crisis or not.
• To analyze the situation of human trafficking and human rights crisis in Eastern Europe.

To show whether the active role of the EU reduced the incidence of human trafficking in
Eastern Europe.
• To assess the legal framework of the EU to see how it incorporates international refugee
laws.
• To show up to what extent the EU implements international refugee laws.
Research Questions
• What is the impact of international refugee laws on the incidence of human trafficking on
the eastern border of the EU?
• What is the human trafficking and human rights crisis in Eastern Europe?
• How does the active role of the EU reduce the incidence of human trafficking in Eastern
Europe?
• How does the legal framework of the EU incorporate international refugee laws?