European Commission strengthens control of firearms across the EU

The College of Commissioners proposed to amend the EU Firearms Directive, which defines the rules under which private persons can acquire and possess weapons, as well as the transfer of firearms to another EU country. The main elements of the proposed revision are:

• Stricter rules to ban certain semi-automatic firearms, which will not, under any circumstance, be allowed to be held by private persons, even if they have been permanently deactivated
• Tighter rules on the online acquisition of firearms, to avoid the acquisition of firearms, key parts or ammunition through the Internet
• EU common rules on marking of firearms to improve the traceability of weapons
• Better exchange of information between Member States, for example on any refusal of authorisation to own a firearm decided by another national authority, and obligation to interconnect national registers of weapons
• Common criteria concerning alarm weapons (e.g. distress flares and starter pistols) in order to prevent their transformation into fully functioning firearms
• Stricter conditions for the circulation of deactivated firearms
• Stricter conditions for collectors to limit the risk of sale to criminals
• An action plan against the illegal trafficking of weapons and explosives

In addition to the adoption of these stricter rules and standards, the Commission also announced today that it is developing an action plan against the illegal trafficking of weapons and explosives. Issues to be tackled in this future action plan will include:

• The illegal purchase of weapons on the black market
• The control of illegal weapons and explosives in the internal market (especially from the Balkan countries or ex-war zones)
• The fight against organised crime
• While arms trafficking is mainly a national competence, given the clear cross-border dimension there is a need for stronger police and intelligence service coordination and stronger import checks. The Commission will propose actions to support Member States' activities, building on the Action Plan on illicit trafficking in firearms between the EU and the Western Balkans. The EU-Western Balkans summit of Ministers of Justice and Home Affairs on 7 December will be a further opportunity to take stock of progress on the Action Plan 

What implications does this have for the UK and Northern Optics?
Since the suggested changes were discussed by the commission back in November 2015 customers who we have spoken to have many worries about the consequences and how it might affect their hobby of sport shooting and hunting? The specific issues that customer are concerned about and have heard rumours about are as follows:

• The suggested ban on Semi Auto firearms used for hunting and target shooting
• The suggested ban on Semi Auto and Pump action shotguns used for hunting or clay shooting
• The suggested ban on Military style or Military looking firearms such as the HK MP5
• The suggested ban on any firearm being chambered in a Military calibre. This could be such as 223 Remington and 308 Winchester which is popular with many hunters in the UK as it is target shooters