EU updates export rules on firearms to increase security and facilitate legal trade

The European Commission has proposed a change in the rules on the import, export and transit of firearms for civilian use in a bid to clamp down on trafficking and keep better track of the number of such weapons in the bloc.

As many as 35 million illicit firearms are estimated to be in the hands of civilians in the EU, and around 630,000 firearms are listed as stolen or lost in the Schengen Information System, according to estimates by the Commission.

“Firearms trafficking feeds organised crime within the EU and breeds political instability in the EU’s neighbourhood. With the development of fast parcel delivery and of new technologies, trafficking of firearms is taking new forms to escape controls,” European Commission Vice President Margaritis Schinas said in a statement.

“The reform we are proposing will close down the loopholes in the existing rules which are often circumvented, leading to firearms being smuggled and diverted into the EU,” he added.

Under the new rules, manufacturers, dealers, and users will no longer have to pay a fee to obtain an import or export authorisation for firearms for civilian use, their essential components, ammunition and alarm and signal weapons.

A new EU electronic licensing system for firearms manufacturers and dealers to apply for import and export authorisation will meanwhile be created to replace the mostly paper-based systems the 27 Eu countries each have.

The European Commission also plans for stricter technical standards for alarm and signal weapons — which only fire blank, tear gas, or irritant ammunition — to ensure they cannot be converted into lethal firearms and for an end-user certificate to be delivered for the more dangerous firearms to certify that the buyer is the final recipient of the goods and does not plan on transferring them to someone else. This should curb the risk of such weapons landing on the black market.