The two-day meeting, held on 11-12 November, brought judicial practitioners from across Europe together with representatives of the European Commission, Europol, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the Council of Europe. The meeting also served as a plenary of Eurojust’s Focus Group for Prosecutors on Migrant Smuggling.

Ms Heli Vesaaja, Eurojust National Member for Finland and Chair of the Anti-trafficking Team said, “Smuggling networks are quick to adapt to changing circumstance. Prosecutors must do the same. Meetings such as this one allow prosecutors to share what trends they are seeing in their cases and turn that knowledge into joint action.”

Mr Zacharias Symeou, Eurojust National Member for Cyprus and Chair of the Migrant Smuggling Group added, “The trust built among practitioners in this network is what makes cross-border cooperation work in practice. As the criminal landscape changes, the Focus Group must keep adapting to remain effective.”

Participants discussed how smuggling networks are changing their methods, including in light of recent EU legislative changes. They also explored how to investigate and prosecute smugglers who are based outside the EU, the use of Joint Investigation Teams and examined how to combat new methods of money flows, such as Hawala 3.0.

The Focus Group members also discussed cooperation with other networks worldwide, such as the UNODC and Council of Europe, and opportunities presented by EMPACT, the European Multidisciplinary Platform Against Criminal Threats.

The meeting underscored that, as smuggling networks continue to evolve, effective responses depend on sustained cooperation among judicial authorities, EU partners and international organisations.