Brussels, 23/07/2010 (Agence Europe) - The American anti-trafficking in human beings czar, Ambassador Luis CdeBaca, is in favour of the forthcoming arrival of his counterpart at European level. “A European coordinator to fight trafficking in human beings will be a real step forward, both nationally and at European level”, he said, in Brussels on Thursday 22 July. The European Commission recently launched a proposal to fill the new position of EU coordinator of the fight against human trafficking (EUROPE 10174). “If cooperation between the EU and the US is moving forward in this area, the arrival of the coordinator will make things a bit easier”, CdeBaca added, suggesting that cooperation was making slow progress at bilateral level. The American official also welcomed the recent adoption of the European directive against human trafficking (EUROPE 10154). He described the text as particularly important as it clearly focuses on the protection and identification of the victim, rather than just on dealing with the traffickers, as was previously the case. (B.C./transl.fl)