Joint Communication on elements towards an EU strategy against illicit firearms, small arms and light weapons, and their ammunition: ‘Securing arms, protecting citizens’

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Illicit firearms and small arms and light weapons (SALW) continue to contribute to instability and violence in the European Union, in its immediate neighbourhood, and in the rest of the world. Illicit weapons are fuelling global terrorism and conflicts, thwarting the EU’s development and crisis management, humanitarian and stabilisation efforts in parts of the EU’s neighbourhood and Africa. Within the EU, illicit firearms have a clear impact on internal security, by fuelling organised crime and providing terrorists with means to carry out attacks on European soil.

In order to step up at international level to prevent, combat and eradicate illicit trade in SALW in all its aspects, this Joint Communication presents elements for a revised SALW strategy, taking into account the evolving security context, the guiding principles of the 2016 EU Global Strategy, developments in conventional arms control, and actions within the EU implementing the 2015 European Agenda on Security, in order to progress towards a genuine and effective Security Union.

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