PSP, supported by the General Secretariat of the Ministry of Home Affairs, organised on the 14th of April, the seminar "Firearms and explosives - Transversal dimension".
The event took place in a videoconference format, from the Belém Cultural Centre, and was attended by numerous experts and representatives of European law enforcement agencies, namely EUROPOL and Security Forces and Services.
During the event, questions were presented on how the threat to European security resulting from the illicit trafficking of firearms and explosives can contribute to the strengthening of police cooperation. The challenges that need to be overcome to ensure the control and supervision of activities related to this threat, namely regarding the manufacturing, trade, storage, transport and use of firearms, explosive products, pyrotechnic articles and explosives precursors, were also discussed.
One of the objectives of this seminar is to contribute to the consolidation of recently approved legislation and action plans on these matters, namely the EU COM Action Plan (2020-2025) to combat arms trafficking, the new 3rd Policy Cycle of EMPACT (2022-2025), the Handbook on Firearms for Border Guards and Customs, the UNODC Global Firearms Programme and the Recovery and Resilience Plans in the area of explosives and pyrotechnics.
The opening session was conducted by the Minister of Home Affairs, Eduardo Cabrita, and the closing session was led by the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Marcelo Mendonça de Carvalho.