On Thursday 26 February, the European Commission presented a proposal for a directive aimed at harmonising firearms offences across the EU. This text, the first legislative initiative under the ‘ProtectEU’ European internal security strategy, aims to bridge the national legal disparities that currently hamper cross-border cooperation and prosecutions.
The proposal introduces common definitions and minimum criminal penalties. Member States will have to introduce maximum penalties of at least eight years’ imprisonment for trafficking and manufacturing of illicit firearms, and five years’ imprisonment for illegal possession.
On the other hand, and for the first time, the Commission is targeting technological threats linked to firearms: the creation, possession or dissemination of blueprints for 3D printing of weapons will thus become criminal offences punishable by at least two years’ imprisonment.
The scheme also provides for operational reinforcement, with the obligation to set up a “National Firearms Focal Point” in each Member State to centralise intelligence. A minimum set of standardised data will be required to record each weapon seized, and this information will have to be sent to Europol on a monthly basis.
“We will put in place the legal framework needed to close the gaps (...) exploited by criminals and terrorists”, explained Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy at the European Commission.
The Commission’s press release: https://aeur.eu/f/kxp (Original version in French by Justine Manaud)