The European Parliament's Civil Liberties Committee (LIBE) adopted on Monday 10 December its position on a draft regulation submitted in April by the European Commission (see EUROPE 12003) aimed at strengthening security requirements for precursors to explosives and substances that can be sold to the general public for their manufacture.
More specifically, the Commission had revised a previous regulation of 2013, which it considered insufficient to respond to threats. The LIBE text defended by Latvian Andrejs Mamikins (S&D) aims in particular to better identify suspicious transactions, which should be more directly reported to the authorities. Improvised explosives were used in about 40% of terrorist attacks in the EU in 2015 and 2016.
The new rules must therefore introduce new chemical substances to the list of prohibited substances, including sulphuric acid, which is used to produce TATP.
As current systems for recording the purchase of substances are not strict enough, they will be abandoned and the conditions for obtaining licences for the purchase and use of precursors to explosives will be tightened with a criminal record check; companies will be required to report suspicious transactions to the authorities involving precursors to explosives within 24 hours.
These measures would not apply to professionals, who must use these chemicals in their commercial or professional activity.
Member State ambassadors are expected to adopt their mandate on this project on Wednesday 12 December, according to an EU Council source. The LIBE Committee will vote in January on its negotiating mandate with the Council. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)