Fostering cooperation between judiciary and law enforcement officials was the main theme of the fourth meeting of the Western Balkans Subgroup of the Focus Group on Migrant Smuggling, which took place in Larnaca, Cyprus from 29-30 October. It follows the third meeting held in Vienna in July 2026. The meeting provided prosecutors from the Western Balkans and EU Member States the chance to exchange expertise, review recent criminal trends and strengthen cooperation in tackling migrant smuggling.
The meeting was co-organised by the Western Balkan Criminal Justice (WBCJ) project at Eurojust and the EU4FAST project. For the first time, a joint session with the EMPACT Task Force Western Balkans was organised, which helped reinforce links between judicial and law enforcement authorities. The Task Force is part of an EMPACT Migrant Smuggling Operational Action, co-led by Eurojust.
Discussions covered cross-border cooperation, tackling organised criminal networks, and social media monitoring, as well as operational challenges across the region. Participants also exchanged experiences from successful investigations and explored opportunities for future joint initiatives.
The programme included a study visit to the Pournara First Reception, Screening and Identification Centre. There, participants learned about border processing, migrant debriefing and how relevant agencies, including Frontex, Europol and the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA), work together.
Eurojust is an agency of the European Union