Evaluation of the 2015-2019 action plan on firearms trafficking between the EU and the south-east Europe region

Summary:

Report presented on 27 June 2019 by the European Commission evaluating the progress made in addressing the illicit trafficking of firearms and small arms between the EU and the south-east Europe region.

Further information:

In December 2014, the EU and its Western Balkan partners endorsed an action plan on the illicit trafficking of firearms between the EU and the south-east Europe region for 2015-2019. The action plan aims to provide a consistent framework for cooperation between the EU and the region by setting goals and actions to increase cooperation, based on those partners’ specific needs and help them to better fight against firearms trafficking.

The action plan aims to: (i) improve the exchange of criminal information and intelligence; (ii) improve operational law enforcement co-operation; (iii) improve the collection and exchange of statistics; (iv) promote networking at all levels; and (v) harmonise Western Balkans’ partners national legislation on firearms with EU and international standards.

The report concludes that the action plan’s added value was most visible in improving networking, exchange of information and putting in place the building blocks of future cooperation. However, the evaluation shows that several planned actions have not yet been fully implemented, which reduced the action plan’s effectiveness.

• Primary Source

EUR-Lex: SWD(2019)282: Commission Staff Working Document accompanying COM(2019)293 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=SWD:2019:282:FIN

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