On Thursday, March 14, the Parliament and Council agreed to update the EU regulation on importing, exporting, and transiting firearms for civilian use. The objective of the revision is to make the import and export of firearms more transparent and traceable, thereby reducing the risk of trafficking. The updated and harmonised rules will ensure closer supervision of all imports and most exports of civilian firearms without compromising trade.
The illicit trade of firearms facilitates terrorism and organised crime, including drug and human trafficking, which has increased in recent years. However, legitimate firearm possession for hunting, sport shooting, or collecting is permissible.
The lack of harmonised rules across the EU for the legal trade of firearms has created a high administrative burden for firearms holders and the industry, creating difficulties for legitimate ownership and trade. The revised regulation will improve the traceability of weapons and ensure proper exchanges of information, enhancing security and combatting firearms trafficking. At the same time, it simplifies the legal trade of firearms.
The Commission proposed to update the EU regulation on import, export, and transit measures for firearms in October 2022 to fight organised crime more effectively after the terrorist attacks in Europe in the last decade. There are an estimated 35 million illicit firearms owned by civilians in the EU, corresponding to 56% of the estimated total of firearms, and around 630,000 firearms are listed as stolen or lost in the Schengen Information System, according to the Commission.
It is important to note that there is no link between the revision of this legislation and the export of firearms for military purposes to Ukraine.
Electronic licensing
The European Union has established a new electronic licensing system (ELS) for manufacturers and dealers, replacing paper-based national systems. This new system will be accessible to all competent authorities, who must check the central system for any previous refusals before granting an import or export authorisation. Member states can either adopt the ELS or integrate their existing digital systems into it to ensure better oversight and information-sharing among authorities. The European Commission will establish the ELS within two years, and member states will have four years to input all the required data and connect their systems.
Annual reporting
To improve transparency, the European Parliament has secured a requirement for the Commission to compile an annual public report based on national data on the import and export of firearms for civilian use. This report will include information such as the number of granted import and export authorisations, their EU-level customs value, and the number of refusals and seizures.
EU marking and temporary movements
The revised regulation will also require dealers and manufacturers to mark imported guns and their essential components sold on the EU market to improve traceability and avoid so-called “ghost guns”, firearms reassembled with non-marked components. The Parliament and Council will have to give their final approval to the provisional agreement.
Rapporteur: The deal ensures transparency
Bernd Lange (S&D, DE), Chair of the International Trade Committee and rapporteur said: “There are still inadequate controls on the import and export of handguns, i.e. pistols and rifles. In Latin America, for instance, many illegal activities and shootings use handguns smuggled in from Europe; revising the inadequate rules was more than overdue. For exports in particular, Parliament ensured that all firearms for civilian use will fall under the new rules and improved the control mechanisms. The electronic monitoring system will also make the end use of firearms more transparent and more traceable. As in the Dual use regulation, these mechanisms are key to ensuring transparency when trading sensitive goods and restricting misuse.”
The Commission welcomes the deal
The European Commission welcomed the provisional political agreement. As part of the Security Union Strategy, the Commission adopted the EU Strategy to tackle organised crime and the 2020-2025 Action plan on firearms trafficking. The proposal to update the EU rules on the import, export and transit of firearms for civilian use will ensure consistency between the Firearms Directive and the EU Regulation on import and export of civilian firearms. The new rules aim to regulate the same types of firearms, essential components, and ammunition in both texts.
The regulation will enter into force after publication in the EU’s Official Journal.
