07/10/2020
A new project with European funding begins in order to fight the trafficking of light and small firearms
Specialists from the Guardia Civil, the Polícia de Segurança Pública and the Poliția Română, during the meeting
FIIAPP has organised the launch event for the project to combat organised crime through the fight against trafficking in light and small firearms, which is financed by the European Union Internal Security Fund.
Under the acronym FOCAL-SF, from its name in English, the project aims to develop National Firearms Focal Points (PFNAF) in the Member States of the European Union. Spain, Portugal and Romania are the countries where a collaboration and information exchange pilot test will be carried out, which will later be transferred to the other European countries.
The project aims to improve coordination in the fight against firearms trafficking, taking advantage of synergies and increasing interoperability between existing databases, with a particular focus on joint initiatives and European operational measures. In this context, the project seeks to complete the collaboration mechanisms of the EMPACT FIREARMS project.
FIIAPP is the coordinating partner for the project and the main liaison with the European Commission, while the operational dimension is managed by a consortium created between FIIAPP, the Guardia Civil, the Polícia de Segurança Pública and the Poliția Română.
At the meeting, which took place virtually, the project’s activities and objectives were presented, as well as an internal diagnosis of needs along with the status of the national firearms coordination centres in Spain, Portugal and Romania. This exercise made it possible to explain the importance of integrating two operational measures into the implementation of the project, which had already been established for the EMPACT FIREARMS project: on the one hand, the development of Focal Points and, on the other, investigations into firearms trafficking in Member States, the Western Balkans and the MENA region (Middle East and North Africa).
The event saw the participation of more than 15 member countries’ National Firearms Focal Points, in addition to European Commission representatives, FRONTEX, SEESAC and the British ballistic intelligence service NABIS.
