Welcome to the European Parliamentary Research Service podcasts.

In this podcast, we'll talk guns. We'll look at the different ways in which illegal firearms get into Europe, their use and misuse, and how the EU and its member states are addressing firearms trafficking.

Firearms are the lifeblood of organised crime in Europe, as elsewhere in the world,

and they pose a serious threat to our safety and well-being.

And while it's difficult to get precise numbers, we know that they are increasingly available

and accessible throughout the

EU, due to cross-border smuggling of firearms from post-conflict countries, especially the

Western Balkans, increased online trafficking, and the availability of easy-to-convert weapons.

According to the Small Arms Survey, 35 million illicit firearms were owned by civilians in the EU in 2017.

That's more than the number of legal arms.

Firearms seizures suggest that the EU illicit firearms market is made up mostly of shotguns, pistols and rifles, although sometimes they

come across converted or convertible weapons.

Most firearms are used for hunting or sports shooting and belong to people with no criminal

intentions, but they can end up in the wrong hands or be used to commit suicide or domestic

violence.

Truth is, most criminals and terrorists have more sophisticated ways to get hold of

illicit firearms.

They can be trafficked from source countries, diverted from legal supply chains, illegally

manufactured or assembled in the EU, converted from legally available weapons into more powerful

arms or sourced on the internet or the dark net.

And guess where most firearms seized across the world come from?

Europe. Yes, you heard it correctly. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs

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