On 26 and 27 November 2019, thirty Kosovo Police officers completed a two-day workshop on Countering Environmental Crime, organised jointly by EULEX and IPA/2017 Project – “Countering Serious Crime in the Western Balkans”.

The workshop, which was delivered by environmental crime experts from the Italian Carabinieri for the Protection of the Environment and the State Prosecutor of Italian National Anti-mafia Directorate, focused on strengthening the Kosovo Police executive capacity and operational performance related to environmental crimes by providing them with effective investigative tools to combat such crimes. The focus of the workshop was also on the development of international police cooperation in this field, namely on possible bilateral agreements and effective exchange of information.

On this occasion, Acting Deputy Head of EULEX, Sean Kerins, said that the Mission supports the aim of the workshop to train and advise Kosovo Police on the threats posed by environmental crime and added: "In our experience so far, a truly all-inclusive approach is needed to combat environmental crime, where multiple agencies, law-enforcement bodies and other institutions need to work together sometimes across borders to properly combat this phenomenon.”

To build up on the knowledge aquired during the workshop, a study visit will be organized to the Italian Carabinieri for the Protection of the Environment Headquarters in Italy from 19 to 20 December 2019, which will equip the Kosovo Police International Law Enforcement Coordination Unit - ILECU, the Kosovo Police Academy in Vushtrri, and the Kosovo Police Organized Crime Investigation Unit representatives with a structured police knowledge in this respective field.

The final objective of this project is for the trainees to pass on their knowledge over to respective specialised units and the Regional Commanders of Kosovo Police.