Check against delivery! 

Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,  

Dear partners from the Western Balkans, 

A warm welcome to Brussels to all of you for this High-Level meeting – I think it is the fourth one - on the Western Balkan Roadmap against illicit arms trafficking [Regional Roadmap for Comprehensive Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) Control in the Western Balkans]. 

That could be something theoretical but, in practical terms, it is something that has an extreme importance with very grave consequences as the ones that we have just witnessed some weeks ago. 

Let me start by extending my own and the European Union’s heartfelt condolences for the victims of the recent tragic shooting incidents in Serbia.  

One may think that these things do not happen in Europe, but yes, unhappily, they happen. And in order to happen, they have to have arms and that is why, this Conference receives much more interest and becomes much more important. 

Because such dramatic events are a stark reminder of the importance of working together to combat small arms trafficking and traffickers – which is the reason why we are here today. I am very happy to share with you this moment. 

Our work will make Europe safer, and this becomes more important in the challenging times in which we are living. 

The weapons collection campaign launched by the Serbian government with our support - with the European Union’s support – that took place immediately [after] these two tragic events, shows how valuable, how important our security cooperation is in contributing to the security of our citizens.  

I was asking [myself] what I am going to do here, why I should participate in this Conference. It is external policy, it is security policy. It is Home Affairs, it is External Affairs. It is everything at the same time.  

And it is a good proof that we need to be united, the different pillars, the different functions of the European Union - bodies, institutions, states, the Swedish Presidency [of the Council of the European Union] - because we, as the whole of the Western Balkans region, have the duty to fight against violence, against traffickers, against [arms] trafficking, in order to prevent them from contaminating the whole continent. 

Everybody knows that this activity - illicit [arms] trafficking - is a serious threat to our peace and stability. It is a multifaceted threat that impacts the stability of the region, states [and] societies, and increases the risk of terrorist attacks.  

We need to fight it. Since it is a polyhedric and multifaceted problem, we need to fight it from many angles, with all our tools, [and] across all borders, while ensuring that the measures that are taken after such tragic incidents remain in line with international standards. 

We share a common objective [which] is to increase the European security, to protect all of our citizens - be it here, in the European Union, and also, and I want to stress it, in our future Member States. I have seen here many representatives of the candidate countries – my warm welcome to all of them. 

And certainly, we are convinced - and you, Ylva [Johansson, Commissioner for Home Affairs] more than anyone else because you are working directly with that kind of problems - that there is not going to be a safe European Union without a stable, strong and peaceful Western Balkans. 

And that is why, since 2002 – it means 20 years ago – the European Union has invested above €38 million in arms control activities in the region. 

And more importantly, I wish to pay tribute to our Western Balkans partners because you have taken ownership of the Roadmap as an investment in your region and in your citizens. And the recent Mid-term review of the Roadmap has shown that notable progress was made across jurisdictions in the harmonisation of their legal frameworks with the European Union acquis. 
 
We also see strengthening capacities for detection and investigation of firearms, leading to a standardisation of approaches in the region, and enhanced operational cooperation on the Western Balkans and the European Union in tackling these traffickers and avoiding the misuse of firearms. 

I think we are on track. The Roadmap has also become a blueprint for other regions in the world, and it is something that we should be proud of. 

That is why, for me, it is a good moment to spend some minutes with you discussing about this important issue, trying to look ahead, to express our commitment to continue supporting this Roadmap beyond 2024. 

This is why I can announce that the Council [of the European Union] - that I am representing - adopted a new decision last November [2022], allocating €4 million more over the next three years. 
 
In 2024, we will review, together with the Member States - the Swedish Presidency can take note of that - how we can further support the process, because unhappily, we will not be able to solve it in just the next four years.  

The problem is too big, too deep, it affects chronically these Western Balkans societies, and we have to be stubborn [and] continue fighting, continue investing, continue engaging in order to help them to solve it. 

I believe that we – the European Union and the Western Balkans – share the determination to continue with our cooperation, because this Roadmap is a win-win. It is not something that we do for you [or] you do for us. It is a win-win. 

It addresses a common security challenge. It looks for a shared security interest and supports the region on its path to the European Union, because certainly we need a peaceful and stable [Western] Balkans in order to bring these candidate states to full European Union membership. 

So, I have to thank you for your attention to these short introductory words. Thank you Ylva [Johansson] for organising, for inviting, for addressing this important conference, and I wish you the best in your work.

Thank you. 
 
Link to the video (starting from 0:50): https://audiovisual.ec.europa.eu/en/video/I-241099