Brussels - Officials in Brussels on Wednesday called on European Union countries to step up their fight against human traffickers and paedophiles through better prevention, harsher penalties for offenders and improved assistance to their victims.

In a statement, the European Commission said it would be proposing a series of new and updated rules to all 27 member states in the coming weeks.

According to the International Labour Organisation, 1.2 million people - many of them women and young girls - are trafficked across borders or within their own countries each year. Of these, some 500,000 are smuggled into EU countries, where they are often forced to work as prostitutes.

The commission now wants to make it easier for the police to target traffickers through the use of phone tapping and other tools normally used to fight organized crime networks.

Victims should receive proper care from the authorities and should be protected by the police when testifying against their perpetrators, the commission stated.

So-called "sex tourists," who abuse children in Asia or Latin America, should face prosecution when they return home, the group said. Luring children over the Internet should be made a criminal offence in all 27 member states, it added.

"We want to build an EU that is truly able to protect the most vulnerable citizens against the most terrible crimes," said the commission's top justice official, Jacques Barrot.

The commission's proposals will now have to be discussed and agreed upon by EU governments. (dpa)