Commissioners Johansson and Várhelyi in Berlin tomorrow to discuss cooperation on arms control with Western Balkan partners

Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, and Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement, Oliver Várhelyi, will be in Berlin tomorrow to take part in the meeting of the Franco-German coordination initiative on the implementation of the roadmap for comprehensive small arms and light weapons control in the Western Balkans. Commissioners Johansson and Várhelyi will deliver opening speeches in the morning, together with German Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs, Heiko Maas, and French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Jean-Yves Le Drian. Participants will discuss progress and the way forward in the fight against the trafficking of small arms to and from the Western Balkans. Western Balkans Interior and Foreign Affairs Ministers, Europol, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex), as well as international and regional organisations such as the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, NATO and the Regional Cooperation Council will take part in the meeting. The trafficking of firearms is an important internal security issue for both the EU and the Western Balkans, and the Commission is committed to working in close cooperation with Western Balkan partners in addressing this shared concern.