07/12/2021
Several European countries are participating in the European FOCAL-SF project to establish national focal points in the fight against arms trafficking
In 2010, the European Union established the EU Policy Cycle, a four-year cycle to develop specific policies on international organised crime and the threats it presents to European states and citizens. This cycle established a multi-year plan, an implementation methodology and the establishment of a series of evaluation priorities in the fight against international organised crime.
In the Action Plan against the trafficking and use of firearms and explosives, the European Commission recommended establishing national focal points (NFPs) to fight against arms trafficking in all Member States. These focal points will be members of the Security Forces and Corps from each of the countries.
The European Fight Organised Crime Against Light Small Firearms (FOCAL-SF) promotes the development of focal points and their coordination in the pilot countries – Spain, Portugal and Romania. The objective is to harmonise its development with the rest of the Member States, who will seek to improve operational cooperation between European Union states and the established focal points.
A meeting was organised in Madrid which was attended by representatives of the pilot countries and by focal points from Belgium, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom who are taking part in the research to establish the development of the focal points in their countries.
This meeting was an opportunity for countries to share experiences and to put forward a broader vision of the situation of each focal point, determining where to strengthen coordination between the different focal points.
It is expected to have the results of the studies of the countries involved by the end of this year, when a comparison will be made highlighting similarities and differences.
