The government wants to cut off the flow of weapons from Austria

A loophole in Austria’s legislation reportedly gives Swedish gangs easy access to Glock pistols. Now the government wants to put an end to it.

– We have a very strong interest in turning the faucet, says Minister of Justice Gunnar Strömmer (M) after a meeting with Austria’s Minister of the Interior.

Pistols from the Austrian Glock are used by the Swedish police and military, but are also a sought-after status marker in the gang environment.

Seizures have doubled in the last five years. Investigations of murders, attempted murders and murder preparations with “traces” of Glock pistols have risen from 20 cases in 2019 to around 55 in the last two years.

Many guns lack matching barrels and shrouds, indicating that these are not pistols leaking from a legal market. Up to 70 percent can instead be traced to Austria, where it is the only EU country to allow license-free sales of gun barrels.

This means that those who can supplement with a barrel and mantle get fully functional pistols. The manufacturing is believed to take place within the Union, which makes smuggling to Sweden relatively easy.

The government acts

– Austrian customs and police know about this, of course, but they have had a hard time showing the politicians what effects it has in a country that doesn’t have that many shootings, said Jesper Liedholm, an expert at the Swedish Customs Administration, to TT at the beginning of June.

Now the government is acting. At a ministerial meeting in Luxembourg on Thursday, a separate meeting was held between Gunnar Strömmer and Austria’s interior minister.

– I take this very seriously. That is why it was important for me to meet with the Minister to raise these issues and start a dialogue to see what can be done about this problem.

What did he say?

– He naturally listens to what we have to say. They have no interest in weapons or weapon parts originating in Austria being used by criminals in other countries.

Contradicting EU law?

Both countries must now produce more information about the problem.

– When we have the basis, we will continue the discussions – about what the problem looks like, what causes it and what we can do about it.

According to Jesper Liedholm, Austria may violate the EU’s weapons directive. But raising the issue at EU level is not relevant at the moment, according to Strömmer.

– Here is a regulation in a member state that leads to parts for weapons appearing in Sweden and being used by criminals. It is a practical question that needs to be resolved, how exactly do we get back to.

– My starting point is that we now raise this directly with Austria and I am convinced that it will be discussed in a constructive spirit.