Prosecutors and law enforcement representatives from across the Western Balkans participated in the two-day programme to exchange expertise and gain practical insights into the French system for investigating and prosecuting environmental crime. The agenda featured exchanges with the French National Gendarmerie’s Environment and Health Command (CESAN) on its organisational structure and operational capabilities, case studies on trafficking-related investigations, and discussions on illicit financial flows associated with environmental offences. Western Balkans prosecutors also joined an international conference on environmental crime and the need for transboundary cooperation, held at the National School for the Judiciary (ENM).

On the second day, participants visited a recycling and sorting facility, which provided first-hand exposure to operational practices and inter-agency cooperation mechanisms used to address environmental threats. The programme also included an exchange led by the Central Office for the Fight against Environmental and Public Health Violations (OCLASEP), which provided an overview of France’s approach to combating the trafficking of protected species, including key source regions, transit patterns, and the challenges posed by this form of environmental crime.

The visit was conducted in close cooperation with the Western Balkans Partnership against Crime and Terrorism (WB PaCT), CESAN, and the ENM. By combining institutional briefings, practical field visits, and peer-to-peer exchanges, the study visit aimed to strengthen regional capacities and promote closer cooperation between practitioners from the Western Balkans, France and the EU in combatting environmental crime.