Two Swedish ministers warned senior EU officials about the rapid shift among criminals in Sweden towards the use of explosives, such as fireworks, in a recent letter sent to European Commission Executive Vice-President for Industry Stéphane Séjourné and Commissioner for Home Affairs Magnus Brunner, which was seen by POLITICO.
Sweden is battling a wave of gang violence that has forced it to take increasingly tough measures to maintain law and order, including allowing the police to eavesdrop on children and introducing strict measures against social media.
“While illegal firearms have been most commonly used by criminal networks when carrying out violent attacks, there is a growing tendency toward using explosives,” Swedish Justice Minister Gunnar Strömmer and Civil Defense Minister Carl-Oskar Bohlin, said in the letter dated May 22.
One of the main sources of explosives is “pyrotechnic articles,” Strömmer and Bohlin write, referring to a technical term that often refers to fireworks.
“The methods used to commit crimes are changing rapidly, and there is a significant risk that this type of violence will quickly spread to other Member States,” the ministers warn.
Sweden is asking the Commission to “urgently” update the EU Fireworks Directive, a 2013 law that regulates the fireworks market in Europe. In particular, it wants to tighten the law on the illegal trade in fireworks; introduce measures to make it easier to track their sale; improve co-operation between law enforcement agencies and industry; and even use artificial intelligence to prevent the illegal trade, circulation and transport of pyrotechnic articles.
According to Swedish ministers, the EU should also tighten measures on cold weapons, which criminals often modify for use in real shootings.
Updating legislation on pyrotechnic articles is one of the objectives of the EU’s recent internal security strategy.
The surge in crime is also causing concern among Sweden’s neighbours. Danish Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard drew attention to the use of encrypted messengers by organised criminals to recruit children into criminal groups, including for “murders, attempted murders [and] explosions.”
