The Western Balkans SALW Control Roadmap by 2030 endorsed during the EU - Western Balkans Ministerial Forum on Justice and Home Affairs

The Roadmap for a sustainable solution to the illegal possession, misuse and trafficking of small arms and light weapons (SALW), their ammunition, and explosives in the Western Balkans by 2030 was endorsed by the Western Balkans Ministers of Interior during the EU-Western Balkans Ministerial Forum on Justice and Home Affairs. Additionally, the EU welcomed this second phase of the Western Balkans SALW Control Roadmap.

Namely, the annual EU-Western Balkans Ministerial Forum on Justice and Home Affairs, hosted in Budva, Montenegro, from 28 to 29 October 2024, brought together the Minister of Interior of Hungary, representing the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, together with their counterparts from the Western Balkans, the European Commissioners for Home Affairs, as well as representatives of the incoming Polish and Danish presidencies of the Council of the EU, European External Action Service, EUROPOL, FRONTEX, and EU Drugs Agency. SEESAC also took part in the meeting as a guest.

The meeting reaffirmed the strong regional commitment and close cooperation on justice and home affairs. Discussions in the area of home affairs centered around migration, asylum, and border management, as well as around combatting arms trafficking and organized crime in general. In this regard, parties agreed to continue strengthening cooperation to counter regional and transnational criminal organized networks involved in illicit trafficking, including migrant smuggling and trafficking in human beings, drugs, and firearms trafficking.

The Western Balkans SALW Control Roadmap by 2024 was developed by the Western Balkans authorities with SEESAC’s technical support, under the auspices of the governments of Germany and France and with the support of the EU and other relevant actors. It was adopted at the Berlin Process London Summit in July 2018.

Following one of the key recommendations of the Mid-Term Review, the authorities of the region expressed their agreement and commitment to continue the implementation of the Roadmap beyond 2024 at the EU’s High-Level Meeting on Countering Firearms Trafficking in South East Europe held in Brussels in May 2023. Furthermore, at the Ministerial Forum on Justice and Home Affairs held in Skopje, on 26-27 October 2023, the EU and the Western Balkans “reconfirmed their determination to eradicate the trafficking and proliferation of small arms and light weapons and recalled the agreement reached in May 2023, to prolong the implementation of the Roadmap for comprehensive small arms and light weapons control in the Western Balkans beyond 2024”. Additionally, the impact of the Western Balkans SALW Control Roadmap was acknowledged at the Berlin Process Summit held in Berlin on 14 October 2024. During the Summit, a Joint Declaration on Reaffirming Good Neighbourly Relations and Regional Cooperation was adopted, which, among others, highlights the impact and relevance of the Western Balkans SALW Control Roadmap: “We, the Leaders of the Western Balkans Six … Agree that the successful implementation of the Western Balkans Small Arms and Light Weapons Control Roadmap, with its important impact on regional coordination and cooperation, crucially contributes to facilitating the ongoing efforts of the Western Balkans Six to meet key security standards for EU membership”.

Following the agreement, consultative meetings with Small Arms and Light Weapons Commissions were held throughout the region in 2023 and 2024 to revise the text of the Roadmap, ensuring regional ownership and sustainability of results. In an effort to keep the comprehensive approach and inclusiveness of the process, consultations also engaged donors, regional and international partners, as well as civil society representatives. On 09-10 July 2024, Western Balkan authorities met in Podgorica at the 11th Regional Roadmap Coordination Meeting and consolidated the final revised text of the Roadmap.

The Western Balkans SALW Control Roadmap is implemented 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 relevant links about the EU - Western Balkans Ministerial Forum on Justice and Home Affairs can be found here:

To download the Western Balkans SALW Control Roadmap for a sustainable solution to the illegal possession, misuse and trafficking of small arms and light weapons, their ammunition and explosives in the Western Balkans by 2030, click here.

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