Prostitution in the EU, or how the lack of legal harmonization goes against the EU’s values
A resolution was adopted by the European Parliament (EP) in February 2014 that defined prostitution and forced prostitution as a matter of gender equality and recommended that all Member States took action to fight it, especially with the endorsement of the “Nordic model” implemented in Sweden, Iceland, Norway and, since 2016, in France. However, across the European Union (EU), there are still several types of legislations in place and this heterogeneity makes it harder to combat sexual exploitation. Indeed, it is actually giving sex traffickers blurred borders to work with. A contradiction therefore arises between the values promoted by the EU and its legislative action to tackle the issues it is denouncing. By not implementing a legally compelling legislation, the EU seems to be going against its values.
