Brussels, 11/12/2015 (Agence Europe) - Numerous MEPs, speaking on Monday 7 December at a meeting of the internal market and consumer protection (IMCO) committee at which the European Commission was represented, expressed the view that the new firearms package would be ineffective against terrorism but would affect citizens who enjoy legal activities such as hunting or sport shooting.
From the outset, most of the MEPs informed DG Internal Market Assistant Director General Pierre Delsaux, who was attending the meeting to present the Commission's proposal for the revision of Directive 2008/51/EC on firearms, that, in their view, the real problem lay with the illegal, not the legal, market. While acknowledging that the Commission had a further legislative chapter dealing with the illegal traffic in firearms and explosives, some MEPs, like Olga Sehnalova (S&D, Czech Republic), felt that the Commission's proposal would feed the black market by making illegal some weapons that have hitherto been legal.
The Commission intends to make it harder to acquire arms, including deactivated arms (see EUROPE 11433), which have thus far been considered little more than “mere lumps of metal”, in the words of Delsaux. Several MEPs felt that the new provisions would affect hunters, sport shooters and collectors, with these latter, under the terms of the legislative proposal, having to apply for a licence. “We haven't yet seen terrorists use crossbows”, said Nicola Danti (S&D, Italy). This provision could, in addition, have serious implications for museums, film-making and theatres, suggested Daniel Dalton (EPP, UK).
MEPs called generally for clarification to be brought to the draft. Pascal Durand (Greens/EFA, France) wondered why the Commission was proposing seven or eight different categories of weapons when some member states have only two: illegal arms and legal arms. Durand expressed some surprise that so much was suddenly being made of what citizens were saying when a deaf ear is turned to their concerns on much more “peaceful” issues. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)