The revised regulation aims to make the import and export of firearms into the EU more transparent and traceable, thereby reducing the risk of trafficking. Under the updated and more harmonized rules, all imports and the vast majority of exports of firearms for civilian use will be subject to closer monitoring without compromising trade.
Electronic license
The rules establish an EU-wide electronic licensing system (ELS) for manufacturers and dealers, replacing mainly paper-based national systems. The competent authorities will have to check the central system, containing all refusals, before granting an import or export authorization. Member States will adopt this electronic system or integrate their national digital systems into the ELS to ensure better monitoring and information sharing between authorities. The Commission will establish the ELS within two years and Member States will have four years to enter all the required data and connect their systems.
Annual Report
To increase transparency, EP negotiators obtained that the Commission establishes an annual public report, based on national data, on the import and export of firearms for civilian use. The report must include, among other things, the number of import and export authorizations granted, their customs value at EU level as well as the number of refusals and seizures.
EU marking and temporary movements
The revised regulation would also require dealers and manufacturers to mark imported weapons and their essential components sold on the EU market. This will improve traceability and avoid so-called “ghost guns”, firearms reassembled with unmarked components.
Citation
Bernd Lange (S&D, DE), chairman of the International Trade Committee and rapporteur, said: “Controls on the import and export of handguns, i.e. pistols and rifles , remain insufficient. In Latin America, for example, many illegal activities and shootings use handguns smuggled from Europe; It was high time to revise the inadequate rules. For exports in particular, Parliament ensured that all firearms for civilian use were subject to the new rules and improved control mechanisms. The electronic monitoring system will also make the end use of firearms more transparent and traceable. As in the Dual Use Regulations, these mechanisms are essential to ensure transparency when trading sensitive goods and limit abuse.
Next steps
Parliament and the Council will now have to give the final green light to the provisional agreement. The regulation will enter into force after being published in the Official Journal of the EU.
Background
Following terrorist attacks in Europe over the last decade, and with the aim of fighting organized crime more effectively, the Commission presented, in October 2022, a proposal to update EU regulations relating to to measures relating to the import, export and transit of firearms. Currently, it is estimated that there are around 35 million civilian-owned illicit firearms in the EU, corresponding to 56% of the estimated total firearms, and around 630,000 firearms are listed as stolen or lost in the Schengen Information System. according to the Commission.
There is no connection between the revision of this legislation and the export of firearms for military purposes to Ukraine.
Lien source
Originally published in The European Times.
source link eu news
