Emerging Threats and Blank Firing Weapons in Focus at Annual Regional FFP Workshop

Representatives of Firearms Focal Points (FFPs) and ballistic experts from the Western Balkans, Moldova, and Ukraine came together in Igman, Bosnia and Herzegovina, from 27 to 29 May for the Annual Regional FFP Workshop.

The three-day workshop served as a dynamic platform for participants to share updates on the evolving firearms landscape across the region. Furthermore, SEESAC final discussions on the draft of the Regional Threat Assessment, offering an evidence-based overview of current challenges and informing future policy and operational efforts, were ongoing.

Participants took part in a practical training on force field analysis, an advanced intelligence collection method. Led by an expert from the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA), the session equipped attendees with tools to better map and analyze drivers and barriers, skills they then applied during practical group exercises.

Recognizing the growing threat posed by converted blank-firing weapons, the final day of the workshop focused on ballistic insights. Experts from the Swedish National Forensic Centre and the Netherlands Forensic Institute shared recent findings on illicit conversion practices, underscoring the critical need for regional cooperation in addressing this issue, complementing the knowledge and experience sharing form Ballistic experts of SEE Jurisdictions.

This Workshop was organized in the scope of the implementation of the regional project 'Support for Enhancing the Fight Against the Illegal Possession, Misuse, and Trafficking of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) in the Western Balkans' funded by the European Commission, Directorate-General for Neighborhood and Enlargement Negotiations, through the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA II) and with the funding support of the European Union through its Council Decision 2022/2321 in support of SEESAC for the implementation of the Regional Roadmap on combating illicit arms trafficking in the Western Balkans.

The Annual FFP Workshop remains a cornerstone in strengthening the region’s response to arms trafficking, bringing together the expertise, building operational capacities, and reinforcing the networks essential for long-term impact.