On 6 May European Commission adopted
Action Plan on Unaccompanied Minors with an aim to increase protection of minors without care entering EU, to ensure that a decision regarding each minor is taken by a competent authority as soon as possible and to create a common European approach regarding this issue.
Minors arrive to EU for a number of different reasons, for example to escape wars, poverty or discrimination. Some are victims of trafficking. According to Eurostat in 2009 10 960 unaccompanied minors applied for refugee status in 22 Member States, that is 13% more compared to 2008.