SALW Control Roadmap 2030
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EU Policy Cycle 2022-25 against organized and serious crime (EMPACT)

Duration

2021-2025

Beneficiary/ies

Bulgaria, Croatia, Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Estonia, France, Hungary,  Luxembourg, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Slovenia, The Netherlands, The United Kingdom, Switzerland, Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Serbia

Donor/s

European Union, led by Spain

Funding Amount

• EUR 300,000 EMPACT FIREARMS high-value grant. • EUR 3,000 to 60,000 under specific operational request. Operational funding is supported by the Low Value Grant and Easter Partnership, the latter of funds is exclusively aimed at Eastern European countri

Funding gaps (if any)

Low level of flexibility to reallocate funds

Objective/s

The project aims to combat firearms trafficking by implementing various Operational Actions outlined in the 2024-2025 Operational Action Plan. These actions address identified needs within jurisdictions, EU Member States, and international partners, including SEESAC. The operational actions have a comprehensive approach from the operational and strategic response to the external dimension, capacity building, innovation and prevention, by developing activities addressed by the following goals:

  • Criminal intelligence picture;
  • Investigations and judicial response, with a specific focus on high-risk criminal networks (HRCN) and key individuals;
  • Coordinated controls and operations targeting the online and offline trade in illicit goods & services;
  • Criminal finances, money laundering and asset recovery;
  • Document fraud;
  • Capacity building through training, networking and innovation;
  • Prevention and harm reduction, assistance to victims, awareness raising;
  • External dimension: cooperation with non-EU partners;
  • Administrative approach.

Contributing to the Roadmap goal/s

Goal 2 - By 2024, ensure that arms control policies and practices in the Western Balkans are evidence based and intelligence led.
Goal 3 - By 2024, significantly reduce illicit flows of firearms, ammunition and explosives (FAE) into, within and beyond the Western Balkans. 
Goal 5 - By 2024, substantially decrease the estimated number of firearms in illicit possession in the Western Balkans.

Contributing to the Roadmap overall targets

Goal 2:

  • Strengthen tasking, coordination and monitoring functions of the Firearms Focal Points, to ensure effective policies on Prevention, Mitigation, Reaction, and Suppression of firearms misuse, trafficking and uncontrolled proliferation.
  • Increase national analytical capacities and institutionalize firearms data analysis.

Goal 3:

  • Strengthen existing bilateral, regional and international mechanisms and encouraging new forms of good practice to counter trafficking of firearms.

Goal 5:

  • Substantially increase the number of seized firearms, ammunition and explosives.

Key activities implemented up to date

  • EMPACT FIREARMS Kickoff meeting, 7th February 2024, The Hague.
  • SEE JAD 2023 debriefing meeting. The meeting was held online on 11-12 June 2024.
  • EMPACT Firearms Strategic Meeting, 15 June 2024, EUROPOL.
  • Coordination meeting with the Authorities of Bosnia & Herzegovina to supervise the Coordination Center Facilities for the operational phase of the JAD SEE under the EMPACT FIA, 18-19 June 2024.
  • EMPACT FIA - 2nd quarterly expert meeting on the impact of Russian aggression against the UA on firearms trafficking & Handbook addendum implementation, Warsaw, 20 June 2024.
  • Workshop with CEPOL to SEE region to implement JAD, Poland, September 2024.
  • Preparatory meeting of the SEE JAD 2024, which took place on 11 September 2024 in online format.
  • Workshop with OSCE, SEESAC and EMPACT in relation to control of firearms trafficking, lessons learned from WB to UA, Kiev, Ukraine, September 2024.
  • JAD SEE implementation of the operational phase, including the development of the Cyberpatrol, 20-27 October 2024.

Main challenges encountered