Report from the Commission on the Evaluation of the 2014-2019 Action Plan on firearms trafficking between the EU and the South East Europe Region
Date: 2019-01-29
Institutions: Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs, European Commission
Subjects: area of freedom, security and justice



IMMC.Ares%282019%29501759.ENG.xhtml.PART-2019-45477V1.docx











EVALUATION ROADMAP  






Roadmaps aim to inform citizens and stakeholders about the Commission's work to allow them to provide feedback and to participate effectively in future consultation activities. Citizens and stakeholders are in particular invited to provide views on the Commission's understanding of the problem and possible solutions and to share any relevant information that they may have.






Title of the evaluation




Evaluation report of the 2014-2019 EU-Balkans Action Plan on firearms trafficking






Lead DG – responsible unit 




DG HOME.D.3






Indicative Planning 


(planned start date and completion date)




Q1 2019






Additional Information




– 














A. Context, purpose and scope of the evaluation






Context 






The Council of the European Union and the Ministers of Interior of the Western Balkans partners agreed at the end of 2014  on an Action Plan on firearms trafficking between the EU and the South East Europe Region.


The Action Plan aimed to provide a coherent framework for cooperation between the European Union and the South East Europe region on illicit trafficking of firearms. Through this Action Plan, the EU has intended to intensify the cooperation with the partners of the region according to their specific needs, requirements and performance. The Action Plan included several operational actions to be carried-out during the period 2015-2019 to reach different strategic goals, notably: modernising law enforcement agencies, enhancing mutual trust, enhancing capacity building.


In the context of the EU Policy Cycle 2014-2017
1
 and the ongoing EU Policy Cycle 2018-2021, the EU crime priority "Firearms" has included specific actions that coincide with the measures set out in the aforementioned Action Plan. 


In its Communication "A credible enlargement perspective for and enhanced EU engagement with the Western Balkans" (COM(2018)65), the Commission stressed the need to reinforce engagement against firearms trafficking. During the meeting in Sofia on 17 May 2018 at the EU-Western Balkan Summit, Heads of States and Governments set as a priority to "prepare a renewed action plan for cooperation on firearms to address more effectively illicit firearms and the large stockpile of weapons".


On 10 July 2018, following a French-German Initiative, Western Balkan Partners agreed to a "Roadmap for a sustainable solution to the illegal possession, misuse and trafficking of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) and their ammunition in the Western Balkans by 2024" (the firearms Roadmap). On 19 November 2018, the Council adopted a Decision endorsing the Roadmap and entrusting the South Eastern and Eastern Europe Clearinghouse for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SEESAC) to implement it.






Purpose and scope of the evaluation 






The European Commission and representatives from the EU Member States and the South East Europe partners underlined the need for an evaluation of the Action Plan during a meeting of the Joint Committee between the European Union Firearms Experts and South East Europe Partners Experts, in 2018. 


The evaluation will provide an assessment of the activities carried-out under the Action Plan, analysing criteria such as relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, EU added-value and coherence. 


The evaluation will provide a picture of what has been achieved since 2015 in the region under the Action Plan on firearms trafficking between the EU and the South East Europe Region, taking into account individual Member States, EU agencies and international organisations involved in the cooperation with the Western Balkans in the fight against firearms trafficking. 


The evaluation will focus on a series of activities such as:


·activities of the South Eastern and Eastern Europe Clearinghouse for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SEESAC); 


·activities of the European Platform Against Criminal Threats (EMPACT) Firearms; 


·actions by EU Agencies such as the EU Law Enforcement Agency (Europol), the EU Border and Coast-Guard Agency (EBCGA) or the EU Agency for Law Enforcement Training (CEPOL); 


·the bilateral actions of Member States and Western Balkan 


·activities of other partners such as the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) or the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).


This evaluation will inform policy makers about future policy needs, as well as the overall management and coordination of this strand of the EU-Balkan cooperation with the aim to streamline processes and to avoid duplication of strategies, funding or cooperation activities.  






B. Better regulation






Consultation of citizens and stakeholders 






The stakeholders of the Action Plan are mainly Member States enforcement authorities, Western Balkan partners, EU agencies and international organisations involved on the ground, as mentioned above. The consultation aims at collecting the views of these stakeholders on the implementation of the Action Plan and whether they believe it was instrumental in fighting firearms trafficking between the EU and South East Europe.


The Commission will take into account the outcome of all the meetings that have taken place with these stakeholders during the 2015-2019, such as Joint meetings of EU and Western Balkans firearms experts; meetings of the South-East Europe Firearms Experts Network (SEEFEN); EMPACT meetings; and meetings of Small arms and Light Weapons commissions in the Western Balkans. None of those meetings were public.


The evaluation will also use the discussions held with Western Balkan partners carried out in the preparation of the firearms Roadmap, especially the needs assessment. Finally, the evaluation will rely on the feedback of all stakeholders to the Questionnaire on the implementation of the Action Plan sent by the European Commission in June 2018 to all relevant stakeholders. The questionnaire covered the all goals of the Action Plan and requested ideas for the future.


No public consultation is planned for this evaluation, since the Action plan was addressed to public authorities. Therefore, the evaluation will be mostly based on restricted or internal information on the actions implemented under the Action Plan. This information is not available to the public but only to the specific stakeholders involved in the Action Plan . 






Data collection and methodology






Due to the confidential nature of most information available, the Commission has collected itself the data and views for this evaluation. Beyond the information collected in the consultation of stakeholders that has taken place, the evaluation will rely on: 


·External studies conducted by independent organisations such as Small Arms Survey, Flemish Peace Institute, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, etc.


·Reports and assessments of activities carried out (reports of workshops funded by the Commission's Technical Assistance and Information Exchange instrument - TAIEX, EMPACT activities, statistics of participation to activities in Europol or CEPOL, etc.)


As far as the efficiency criteria is concerned, most of the assessment will be based on qualitative considerations in a field where cross-border co-operation is still at an early stage.












(1)
  The methodology adopted by the European Union in 2010 to address the most significant criminal threats facing the EU. The Policy Cycle translates strategic objectives at the European level into concrete operational actions against serious and organised crime.