Firearms: internal market MEPs to debate draft rules on gun control in the EU | WPN World People News

MEPs will give their views on how best to prevent weapons falling into the hands of terrorists and keep track of cross-border arms transfers in the Internal Market Committee’s kick-off debate on the revision of the EU firearms directive on Tuesday at 9.00. Concerns over the impact that the proposal would have on sport shooters, hunters, collectors, museums and other lawful activities are also among the issues to be discussed by MEPs.

Internal Market Committee chair Vicky Ford (ECR, UK) will steer the legislation through Parliament. The European Commission presented its proposal to the committee on 7 December, which will now kick-off the discussions in order to prepare Parliament's position.

The topics to be addressed include:

● stricter rules for collectors: the Commission includes them in the scope of the proposed directive, subjecting them to the same authorisation/declaration requirements as private persons,

● banning certain semi-automatic firearms, e.g. those that "resemble" full automatics: private persons would not be permitted to hold them, even if they have been permanently deactivated,

● the likely impact of the proposal on sport shooters, hunters, museums and other lawful activities,

● tighter requirements for alarm, signal weapons, blank firers and replicas: these would be added to the list of firearms that must be declared to the authorities. The Commission also proposes that it be empowered to issue technical specifications to ensure that these cannot be turned into firearms,

● banning distance (online) selling of firearms, their parts and ammunition, other than by dealers and brokers,

● amending authorisation conditions for acquiring and possessing a firearm (e.g. introducing standard medical tests for issuing or renewing authorisations), and

● new rules on the marking and traceability of firearms, keeping records of deactivated arms and exchanging information among member states, e.g. on any refusal of authorisation to own a firearm decided by another national authority.

Source: European Parliament