Malta has been singled out by the European Commission for failing to transpose into its national laws an EU directive to combat human trafficking and increase protection to victims.

Although Malta has one of the lowest rates of victims of human trafficking, according to a report published in Brussels, the Commission warned the country might face infringement procedures if it does not come in line with the directive.

Although member states had a full two years to transpose the EU’s Anti-Trafficking directive, only six had done so by the April deadline, while another three have only partially adopted it.

“I am very disappointed to see that, despite alarming trends in trafficking of human beings, only a few countries have implemented the anti-trafficking legislation and I urge those who have not yet done so to respect their obligations,” said EU Commissioner for Home Affairs, Cecilia Malmstrom.

The legislation covers actions in different areas such as criminal law provisions, prosecution of offenders, victims’ support and victims’ rights in criminal proceeding and prevention.

Each member state would need to establish a national rapporteur or equivalent mechanism reporting on trends, gathering data and measure the impact of anti-trafficking activities.

According to the first EU report, Malta reported just five cases of identified or presumed human trafficking between 2008 and 2010.

Malta joined Sweden, Hungary, Poland and Portugal in reporting the fewest cases. On the other hand, Cyprus and the Netherlands reported the highest number of abuses.

The report shows that at EU level, most victims identified from the EU were citizens of Romania and Bulgaria while Nigerians and Chinese were the most numerous non-EU targets.

The Commission said that, while between 2008 and 2010 the number of trafficking cases rose 18 per cent, convictions of traffickers’ fell by 13 per cent.