A new so-called sanctions regime is proposed to allow assets to be frozen and entry and economic activity to be stopped for people linked to smuggling.
Not least, it is aimed at combating human trafficking involving refugees and migrants who are illegally brought into the EU.
"It must be us in Europe who decide who comes here and under what circumstances," writes Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in a press release.
In addition to migrant smuggling, the sanctions system is also proposed to apply to drugs, weapons, counterfeit goods and money laundering.
