Brussels, 17/11/2015 (Agence Europe) - Following the attacks in Paris, the European Commissioners Frans Timmermans and Dimitris Avramopoulos are expected to propose two legislative initiatives on firearms on Wednesday 18 November, a direct-application regulation on the standards for the deactivation of weapons, together with an amended directive (the former directive 477/91) to tighten up the rules on acquiring weapons and changing the category of firearms, notably of the type of those used in the Paris attacks (AK-47 assault rifles).
The European Commission's aim is to change the categories of certain firearms by placing them into the category “military weapons”, which would make it impossible for a civilian, even with a specific licence, to acquire one. With its deactivation standards, the Commission also wishes to ensure that any weapon that has been taken out of service cannot be reinstated. This regulation would come into force very soon, within a matter of weeks or months, but certainly not years, several Commission sources stressed.
On Wednesday, after the meeting of the College of Commissioners, the Commission is also expected to publish a report on the current legislation, amongst other things identifying obstacles to traceability, and to present new initiatives to fight the illegal trafficking in firearms and explosives, with the aim of preparing a future action plan which could tackle the issue of the black market and weapons coming into the EU from the former Yugoslavia.
At this meeting, the Commission is also expected to discuss the forthcoming revision (in 2016) of the framework decision on terrorism, a revision referred to after the attacks in Paris in January 2014. The framework decision, which dates from 2011, lays down a common definition of terrorism and a minimum level of sanction, but its revision will help to bring it into line with the most recent United Nations resolution on terrorism (September 2014), as well as an additional protocol on terrorism of the Council of Europe (see EUROPE 11416). The idea is that the member states will criminalise activities related to terrorism, such as assistance with travel, assistance with training or the financing of travel. The revision, which is expected to take the form of a directive, would cover more passive activities linked to a terrorist plan.
The Commissioners are also expected to be invited to discuss the state of progress with the European PNR, the planned European register of air travellers, with inter-institutional negotiations held on Tuesday 17 November. The Commission took position in favour of including intra-European flights in this mechanism for the collection of the passenger data from airlines, but the European Parliament continues to have misgivings. The Luxembourg home affairs minister, Etienne Schneider, was to discuss this dossier on Tuesday with the President of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, ahead of the extraordinary meeting of the home affairs and justice ministers of the member states on Friday 20 November.
On controls on the external borders of the EU, the Commission still does not intend to move on France's request to revise the Schengen Code downwards to allow systematic controls on the basis of police files records (SIS2 and Interpol) of all European nationals on the external borders (see EUROPE 11431). The Commission reiterates that its risk criteria issued in May already allow extra controls of this type on citizens of the EU when this is felt to be necessary. Taking the view that the Schengen Code already contains considerable leeway, the extraordinary Council of Ministers of 20 November is therefore expected to focus on the implementation of these criteria, the Commission said. However, discussions will be held on whether the Code should be revised, the effectiveness of which will be informed by the logistical problems this will bring about and the efforts of the member states to feed into the police databases.
On Wednesday, the Commission is also expected to announce whether it plans to work on the confiscation of assets of terrorist groups and will launch a reflection on whether additional rules are required (a directive on the freezing of assets was presented in 2011), for instance covering trafficking in cultural goods or reinforced controls on cash payments. The Commission will also encourage the member states fully to apply the Prüm decision on the exchange of DNA files, digital fingerprints and car registration numbers between the participating countries (14 member states are participating in it).
Finally, the Commission is expected to reiterate its commitment to present, by the end of the year, its proposals on European border guards and the new package on smart borders for 2016, which is of interest to several member states, including France, which hope to use it to tackle the issue of foreign fighters. On Monday 16 November, at the committee of representatives of the security services of the member states (COSI), the national experts looked into the possibility of including in this package on smart borders the treatment of all European nationals travelling outside the EU, notably to deal with the threat of foreign fighters, according to a preparatory note. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)