Brussels, 28/04/2016 (Agence Europe) - Concerned at the growing threats to its security that European civil society is facing, the European Social and Economic Committee (EESC) said on Thursday 28 April that the draft directive amending Directive 91/477/EEC on the control of the acquisition and possession of weapons brings important but still insufficient progress to ensure the effective protection of European citizens.
In response to the European Commission proposals, which it deems modest, to check the problem of the acquisition and possession of small arms and light weapons (see EUROPE 11433); the EESC puts forward four specific measures.
Ammunition traceability. The EESC believes that traceability, which for the moment covers firearms, should be extended to ammunition. Often it is the ammunition and not the weapons that are left at the crime scene. Research should be carried out, the EESC says, into the possibility of placing indelible marks on bullets which cannot be destroyed upon use. This could be “a valuable source of information in police investigations”, it suggests. The EESC adds that this traceability would make it possible to know which weapon was bought, where, when, by whom and with which ammunition.
Buy-back programme. Another approach suggested by the EESC is to follow the examples of the Australian and UK authorities with their buy-back schemes, which would take several thousand weapons out of circulation. In Australia, 700,000 weapons have been surrendered leading to a drastic fall in firearms-related homicides.
Special attention to 3D printing. Technological developments can be used to manufacture weapons that are just as lethal as those made by conventional methods. 3D printing makes traceability impossible, however, as the components used cannot be detected by traditional security systems, the EESC says.
Medical testing. The EESC argues that, while medical tests are already carried out in some member states, they should be made compulsory across the EU. These tests should meet minimum European quality requirements to assess physical and mental health for issuing or renewing licences to use and carry a weapon.
According to a 2015 United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) study some 875 million firearms were in existence around the world in 2007. Only 3% of these were held by law enforcement services and 23% by the military. The EESC says that “it is up to legislators to impose measures against the threat arising from the possession of such vast number of weapons”. “We are facing challenges today unlike any previously. We need more protection and prevention systems”, it adds. (Original version in French by Maëlle Didion)