Modern Slavery Risk Highlighted in Bulgaria, Romania

Romania and Bulgaria are among the European Union countries most vulnerable to modern slavery, a new report has warned.

The Modern Slavery Index 2017, released by the UK-based Verisk Maplecroft risk analysis consultancy, puts Romania and Bulgaria among the top five countries in the European Union at highest risk of modern slavery together with Greece, Italy and Cyprus.

The five countries are key entry points in the region for migrants who are extremely vulnerable to exploitation, the authors of the index say.

The report says the situation in Romania worsened faster than in any other country in the world, after it fell 56 places in the ranking since the previous report, to 66th place globally.

"Romania and Italy, [ which ranked in 133rd place], which fell 16 places, have the worst reported violations in the EU, including severe forms of forced labour, such as servitude and trafficking," the report said.

Romania is is the only EU country categorised as a "high risk" country in terms of modern slavery by the index.

Its poor rating is driven both by instances of forced labour, trafficking and servitude inside the country, as well as by its poor record of enforcement, with authorities struggling to protect workers and tackle trafficking gangs, Jason McGeown, Verisk Maplecroft's communications director, told BIRN.

He said the index assessed the risk of slavery inside a country by analysing the strength of a country's legal frameworks, how well it enforces those laws and the likelihood and severity of violations.

"This means that Romania's score represents risks inside Romania. Romanian victims of slavery in the EU are captured in other countries' scores," he noted.

Cases of abuse reported in Romania at the beginning...