Twenty-one MEPs from the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group, led by Paolo Inselvini, have asked the European Commission to clarify whether it considers surrogacy a form of trafficking in human beings and why it plans to exclude it from the forthcoming EU strategy to combat trafficking. The written question, dated 18 June 2026, challenges the Commission's position after its Anti-Trafficking Coordinator, Diane Schmitt, stated during a joint hearing of the Civil Liberties and Women's Rights committees on 3 June 2026 that surrogacy would not be included in the strategy.
The MEPs point to Directive (EU) 2024/1712, which amended the 2011 anti-trafficking directive and expressly included surrogacy among the forms of exploitation that member states must criminalise as trafficking. They also cite a Commission news article from 12 July 2024 that highlighted surrogacy as one of the new forms of exploitation covered by the legislative revision. The question asks the Commission to confirm whether it still considers surrogacy a form of trafficking under the directive, whether it will include measures against surrogacy in the upcoming strategy, and what concrete initiatives it plans to adopt to tackle transnational criminal networks involved in cross-border surrogacy arrangements and the sale of children.
The question reflects a cleavage between the MEPs' push for stronger EU action against surrogacy as a form of exploitation and the Commission's apparent reluctance to prioritise it in the strategy. If the Commission excludes surrogacy, it could reduce pressure on member states to enforce the 2024 directive's provisions, potentially weakening protections for vulnerable individuals, particularly women in low-income countries who may be exploited as surrogates. Conversely, including surrogacy could impose additional compliance burdens on fertility clinics and agencies involved in cross-border arrangements, affecting the reproductive tourism industry. The Commission is expected to reply within approximately six weeks, and its answer will signal whether it intends to align the strategy with the expanded legal framework or maintain a narrower focus. Stakeholders most impacted include EU regulatory bodies, national authorities, women potentially exploited through surrogacy, and businesses in the fertility sector.