The workshop, organised in cooperation with the TOPCOP and WB PACT II projects, provided a platform to discuss common challenges, emerging crime trends and best practices in investigating and prosecuting the trafficking of cultural goods, with a particular focus on the importance of cross-border judicial cooperation. Participants exchanged experiences and examined practical cases, including investigations involving authorities from the Western Balkans and EU Member States.

Participants were also introduced to the support and judicial cooperation tools available through Eurojust and the WBCJ Project. A practical visit to the Museo dell’Arte Salvata and the Carabinieri’s recovered artefact collections provided insights into Italy’s approach to protecting cultural heritage and recovering illicitly trafficked objects.

The participation of practitioners from the Western Balkans, Eastern Partnership countries and EU Member States further strengthened the expanding inter-regional dimension of the WBCJ Project, fostering new professional networks and reinforcing cooperation against a form of organised crime that increasingly transcends national borders.