On 17 December, EUBAM together with Europol, Frontex, UNODC, OSCE, and representatives of law enforcement agencies from Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova convened the fourth operational meeting of the Arms Working Group in a video-conference format.

In the course of the meeting, the participants discussed activities implemented by the group over the past year, namely in the fields of enhancement of cooperation, analytical support, operational capacity building, as well as joint operations and investigations. International experts presented to Ukrainian and Moldovan law enforcers a comprehensive assessment of current threats related to illicit trade in weapons, ammunitions, and explosives in Europe. In their turn, law enforcement experts from the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine presented recent cases and trends in the field of illegal arms detection at the BCPs and in the border area. In the end, the participants discussed the plans of the group for 2022.

The Head of EUBAM, General Slawomir Pichor highlighted the productive work the group demonstrates for the second year in a row and commented, “When it comes to combat such somber phenomenon as illicit firearms trafficking, Arms Working Group has proved itself as a platform of the utmost importance, for it  helps to consolidate the knowledge, experiences, and efforts of Moldovan and Ukrainian law enforcement agencies as well as international actors, at the same time strengthening joint countermeasures against the smuggling of arms, ammunition, and explosives.”