EU and Western Balkans forum in Budva focuses on cybercrime, migration and sanctions

EU and Western Balkan ministers met on 5-6 November 2026 in Budva, Montenegro, for the annual EU-Western Balkans Ministerial Forum on Justice and Home Affairs. Ireland's Minister for Justice, Migration and Home Affairs Jim O'Callaghan represented the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, alongside European Commissioner for Justice Michael McGrath.

Representatives of the incoming Lithuanian and Greek presidencies, as well as the European External Action Service, also attended. The meeting highlighted a shared commitment on justice and home affairs and focused heavily on the online dimension of internal security.

Participants discussed preventing and combating online child sexual abuse, online solicitation of children and cyberviolence. They also addressed online fraud through stronger regional and international cooperation in the detection and investigation of online scams.

Ministers and officials said cyberattacks, online fraud and online child sexual exploitation are among the fastest-growing crimes. They noted that criminal networks exploit gaps in cross-border cooperation and differences between jurisdictions.

To respond, they stressed the need to strengthen digital investigation and forensic capacities, including with support from Europol and CEPOL. The EU and Western Balkan partners said they would continue joint efforts against child sexual abuse and the sexual exploitation of children, including threats linked to new technologies.

They specifically referred to the growing emergence of deepfake and AI-generated child sexual abuse material. They also stressed cooperation with online platforms to report illegal content and ensure lawful access to data, and welcomed support from EU agencies for new cooperation opportunities inside and beyond the region.

The forum also covered migration, border management and organised crime. The participants reaffirmed their commitment to tackling illegal migration by reinforcing border protection and combating migrant smuggling and trafficking in human beings.

The EU said it had developments under way on a new sanctions regime against migrant smuggling, trafficking and other serious organised crime, allowing asset freezes and travel bans against perpetrators. The meeting also welcomed progress on the EU Action Plan on the Western Balkans of December 2022, support from Frontex, EUAA and Europol, and closer work on the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum.

#cybercrime #migration #sanctions #Europol #Frontex