EN    EN EN 
EN    EN  EUROPEAN COMMISSION  
Brussels, 31.5.2010 
SEC(2010) 663 final 
  
COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT 
Accompanying document to the 
Proposal for a  
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT and COUNCIL RE GULATION implementing Article 10 
of the United Nations’ Firearm s Protocol and establishing ex port authorisation, import 
and transit measures for firearms, thei r parts and components and ammunition 
SUMMARY OF THE IMPACT ASSESSMENT  
 
{COM (2010) 273} 
{SEC(2010) 662} 
*** 
EN 2   EN 1. INTRODUCTION  
1.1. Background 
The Action Plan implementing the Hague Progr amme on strengthening freedom, security and 
justice in the European Union listed among its actions1 a proposal on the conclusion — on 
behalf of the European Community2 — of the Protocol against the Illicit Manufacturing of 
and Trafficking in Firearms, their Parts and Components and Ammunition (hereinafter 
referred to as the ’UN Fir earms Protocol’ or ‘UNFP’)3, supplementing the UN Convention 
against Transnational Organised Crime.  Recently, the Stockholm Programme on an open and 
secure Europe, serving and protecting citizens4, highlighted trafficking in arms as one of the 
illegal activities that continue to challenge the in ternal security of the EU and reaffirmed that 
the Union should continue to promote ratification of intern ational Conventions (and their 
Protocols), in particular those developed under the auspices of the United Nations.  
The Commission’s Communication on measures to ensure greater security in explosives, 
detonators, bomb-making equipment and firearms  of 18.07.20055 informed the public of the 
need to implement Article 10 of the UNFP (hereinaft er referred to as Art.  10), as part of the 
overall transposition work6, with the final aim of concluding (to ratify) the UNFP on behalf of 
the Union as one of the principal aims of th e Commission’s current policy on firearms. The 
proposal that this Impact Assessment accompanies would finalise that work. 
Art. 10 requires contracting part ies to put in place/improve procedures or systems to exercise 
effective control over export, import and transit of firearms, their parts and components and 
relevant ammunition. 
The Commission negotiated and signed the UNFP on behalf of the European Community7 
under Articles 95 (internal mark et) and 133 of the EC Treaty8 (common commercial policy9, 
exclusive competence of the Union, within which Art. 10 provisions fall). The conclusion of 
the UNFP by the Union is pending, represents an international commitment for the EU and is 
                                                 
1 OJ C 198, 12.8.2005, point 4.2, International legal Order, (o), p.20.. 
2 When historical reference is made to the ‘European Community’ the reader should bear in mind that the 
European Union replaced and succeede d the European Community on the da te of entry into force of the 
‘Lisbon Treaty’, 1 December 2009, pu rsuant to Article 1 third paragraph of the Treaty on European 
Union/TEU (OJ, C115 of 9 May 2008),. 
3 http://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.a spx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=XVIII-12-
c&chapter=18&lang=en   
4 EU Council Document 17024/09, CO EUR-PREP  3 JAI 896 POLGEN 22 9 of 2 December 2009. 
5 COM(2005) 329 final,. 
6 Work that included the update of Directive 91/477/EEC on possession and transfers of firearms within 
the EU, as amended by Directive 2008/51/EC, addressing other parts of the UNFP from the internal 
market perspective. 
7 (Council Decision 2001/748/EC of 16 October 2001. OJ European Communities, L 280 of 24 October 
2001). 
8 Now respectively Art. 114 and 207 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union /TFEU (OJ 
C115 of 9 May 2008). 
9 According to Article 207 TFEU, the common commercial policy ‘shall be based on uniform principles, 
particularly with regard to changes in tariff rates, the conclusion of tariff and trade agreements…. the 
achievement of uniformity in measures of liberalisation, export policy and measures to protect trade 
such as those to be taken in the event of dumping or subsidies….’. 
EN 3   EN consistent with the current EU policy on meas ures aimed at reducing the proliferation and 
spread of small arms around the world. 
Art. 3 and 207 TFEU provide the framework fo r the proposal, that whic h should only apply to 
firearms (parts and components, and ammunition) for civilian use (no military purposes). 
1.2. Consultation and expertise 
The consultation of stakeholders included questi onnaires, invitations to meetings addressed to 
all EU Member States (MSs) an d interested private parties (a ssociations of manufacturers, 
those engaged in civil commerce of weapons, hu nters, collectors, NGOs, research institutions, 
etc.), the opening of a specific e-mail account ( JLS-FIREARMS@ec.europa.eu ), an external 
study to support the IA10 and a Commission Inter-Service Group. 
2. POLICY CONTEXT  
2.1. Article 10 
The United Nations Guide on the UNFP points out that: The Protocol requires (Shall – i.e. 
mandatory -  provisions)  States parties to establish a system to ensure that firearms are not 
exported to or through countries that have not authorised the tr ansfer; to ensure that the 
content of the documents used for legal import and export is su fficient to support the offence 
of trafficking; and to enhance th e accountability and security associated with the import and 
export system,  thereby improving scrutiny of transfer s and allowing better enforcement of 
laws. Art. 10 also allows ( May – i.e. optional - provisions) the adop tion of simplified 
procedures for verifiable lawful purposes , such as recreational, repair, exhibition.  
The Commission legislative initiative would address trade/transfers to third countries only. 
Intra-community trade/transfers are excluded.  
2.2. Definition of firearms 
The UNFP does not distinguish between firearms for civilian or military use. The IA only 
refers to firearms for civilian use.  Hence the IA refers to the re levant codes of the Combined 
Nomenclature and the categories B, C and D as mentioned in A nnex I, part II  of Directive 
91/477/EC.  
2.3. Scale of imports/exports11 
Firearms for civilian use, their parts and components and ammunition to and from third 
countries in 200712 
 Export 
quantity Export value Import 
quantity Import value 
                                                 
10 Ernst and Young/Regioplan. 
11 The following data are extracted from the Combined Nomenclature da taset of the Eurostat database. 
12 Analysis of Regioplan Policy Research (2008) of  data extracted from the Combined Nomenclature 
dataset of the Eurostat database. Other detailed tables on firearms for recreational purposes, revolvers 
and pistols, ammunition, and parts and components are included in the IA. 
EN 4   EN EU 27  10.359.214 € 693.877.545  2.789.587 € 221.552.424 
3. DEFINING THE PROBLEM  
3.1. Status quo 
National legislations do not fully comply with the provisions of Art. 10. The requirements on 
import licence, transit measures and simplified procedures are not in place in all MSs.  
3.2. Legal aspects linked to UNFP 
The Union should fulfil the international obliga tions following the signature of the UNFP and 
conclude it. The harmonisation required by th e common commercial po licy in the field of 
export of firearms for civilian use has not yet be en achieved. It is the du ty of the Commission 
to transpose provisions falling within Union (formerly Community) exclusive competence 
into Union legislation. 
3.3. Security problems 
Combating firearms trafficking is crucial in the fight against insecurity and criminality. 
Preventive activities include monitoring legal tr ansfers of firearms, stepping up controls and 
enhancing cooperation between EU national authorities. 
Improving firearms tracing — from manufacturer to last legal purchaser — is a key 
prevention objective. The majority of firearms  on the illegal market (or used in illegal 
activities) originate in the legal market. Implementation of Art. 10 is one of the ways to meet that need, as requested by the international community. Firearms-related crimes constitute serious problems for society. The public also ha s concerns about the misuse of legally owned 
firearms, as shown in recent tragic events with the loss of human lives. 
3.4. Economic problems 
Export and import procedures for firearms vary between MSs. The UN has stressed the 
importance of standardised pr ocedures and documents, that may also increase the degree of 
security as required by Art. 10, paragraph 5, and reduce costs
13. Consideration should also be 
given to the costs of crime, expressible or not in cash terms: for law enforcement, insurance, 
health care, injury, loss of lives, reduction of  job opportunities in high-crime areas, emotional 
and physical impacts of crime. 
3.5. Defining the problem and its underlying drivers/causes 
General problems: 
• The Union has not yet fulfilled its internati onal obligations with regard to Art. 10. 
• The Union has not yet accomplished the common commercial policy with regard to the 
establishment of uniform principl es on export, import and transit. 
                                                 
13 Legislative guide for the implementation of the UNFP, chapter 4, p.441, paragraph 103 D. 
EN 5   EN • The risks to security linked to  export, import and transit.  
Specific problems : 
• Diversion from the legal market.  
• Inefficient cooperation between  MSs on tracing firearms. 
• Inequalities between businesse s acting in different MSs.  
• Costs of crime. 
3.6. Subsidiarity 
The subsidiarity principle does not apply in  the case of Art. 10 due to the exclusive 
competence of the Union.  
4. SETTING THE OBJECTIVES  
General objectives: 
• To fulfil international obligations of the Uni on with regard to implementation of Art. 10. 
• To ensure accomplishment of the Common Commercial Policy, exclusive competence of 
the Union. 
• To contribute to the improvement of security. 
Specific objectives: 
• To ensure uniform principles of a pproach in all MSs regarding Art. 10. 
• To limit (possible) diversion from th e legal market and to ensure tracing. 
• To contribute to counteracting inequalities for EU businesses with regard to export, import 
and transit procedures. 
Operational objectives: 
• To ensure an efficient and safe export-import regime. 
• To ensure efficient and safe transit. 
• To ensure a certain level of harm onisation in the least burdensome way. 
With regard to security, the objective of limiti ng diversion and of ensuring better tracing is the 
objective of the UNFP as a whole.  
EN 6   EN 5. DEVELOPING POLICY OPTIONS  
Option 1) No EU action (status quo): The identified problems would not be addressed, Art 
10 would not be implemented and the UNFP w ould not be concluded (ratified). The Union 
would not honour its political an d international commitments. Option 2) Regulation 
focusing on effectiveness to  achieve optimal security: Establishment of a strict effective 
system. Only the ‘Shall’ provisions of Ar t. 10 would be implemented (no simplified 
procedures). Option 3) Regulation focusing on efficiency for private parties: Privilege 
given to the efficiency of the system, with a vi ew to keeping the burden for private parties to a 
minimum. The ‘May’ provisions on simp lified procedures would be allowed. Option 4) 
Regulation focusing on effici ency for States’ authorities: focus on the efficiency of the 
system, with a view to keeping the burd en for public authorities to a minimum. 
6. COMPARATIVE ASSESSMENT OF POLICY OPTIONS  
. 
 Assessment criteria14 Policy 
Option 1  Policy 
Option 2  Policy 
Option 3  Policy 
Option 4  
To fulfil international obligations of 
the Union with regard to implementation of Art. 10 of the UNFP 0 √√ √√ √√ 
To ensure accomplishment of the Common Commercial Policy as a matter of exclusive competence of the Union with respect to export, import and transit measures for 
firearms for civilian use  0 √√ √√ √√ Relevance  
To contribute to the improvement of 
security with respect to firearms for 
civilian use 0 √√ √ √ 
Feasibility  The difficulty/risks of transposition Not 
applicable - - 0 
Social/Security 
impacts  Impacts on crime, terrorism and 
security 0 √√ √ √ 
Economic 
Impacts  The financial and administrative 
costs 0 -- - - 
                                                 
14 Policy options assessed according to a ranking: more positive ( √√), positive ( √), neutral (0) and 
negative (-) or more negative impacts (- -), for each of the assessment criteria. Some options could 
imply trade-offs and thus have both positive and negative impacts with regard to an assessment 
criterion. The definition of net impact used here is positive impact minus negative impact. 
EN 7   EN  Impacts on competitiveness, trade 
and investment flows 0 - √ - 
 
6.1. Assessment of stakeholders’ consultations 
MSs and NGOs believe that Art. 10 is useful for preventing diversion of firearms from the 
legal market. The private parties say that legislat ion is sufficiently strict  in the MSs and that 
implementation of Art. 10 woul d have negative consequences for SMEs. Concerns were 
expressed with regard to transit measures. Licences for multiple shipments and maximum duration for processing applicati ons were seen as an advantag e by private parties and NGOs. 
Private stakeholders favoured simplified pro cedures for temporary imports/exports. Some of 
the MSs would prefer the simplif ied procedures to be limited to hunters and sport shooters. 
7. T
HE PREFERRED POLICY OPTION  
The preferred policy option is ba sed on an assessment of the id entified policy options and the 
consultations with private and public stakeholders..  
Main field of 
the EU 
intervention Key features of the preferred policy option 
Regulation implementing the ‘Shall’ provisions 
of Art. 10/UNFP throughout the EU 
Scope of the 
authorisations Simplified procedures (‘May’ provisions) for 
temporary import/export, fo r verifiable lawful 
purposes such as hunting, sport shooting, evaluation, exhibitions and repairs 
The private parties to acquire ‘notice of no 
objection’ of the transit State and provide it to 
the exporting State 
Use of open licence for multiple shipments Conditions 
for 
application of 
authorisations 
Use of silent consent with regard to transit 
requirements 
MSs to appoint an official/office/department for the authorisation procedures 
Limited duration of the licensing process  
Electronic documents may be introduced Conditions 
for processing 
authorisations 
Documents may be standardised 
EN 8   EN 7.1. Assessment of the preferred option 
Relevance/Objectives to achieve: I nternational obligations of th e EU; a coherent EU trade 
regime; enhanced cooperation between MSs; a common commercial policy in the field; 
stronger control of exports/imports; fewer opportunities for diversion. Feasibility:  Due to the 
‘Shall’ provisions, some MSs could find it nece ssary to adapt their national of the work. 
Social/Security impacts:  The ‘Shall’ provisions have a positive security impact since the risk 
of diversion from the legal market would be diminished. The silent consent would slightly 
mitigate that positive impact. The preferred option is likely to enhance internal security and 
security of citizens in the EU and third countries. Administrative burden and financial 
costs:  The ‘Shall’ requirements c ould impose administrative costs on businesses, mitigated by 
the ‘May’ provisions and other prop osed measures such as: silent consent, authorisations for 
multiple shipments; maximum duration for pro cessing requests. The silent consent would 
neutralise the risk of delays in cases of transit. Small negative impact on MSs’ public authorities that do not already apply the ‘Shall’ provisions is foreseen. Impacts on 
competitiveness, trade and investment flows: The implementation of  uniform provisions  
can have a positive impact due to reduction of the number of diverging rules now in place in 
the MSs, which potentially create  distorted competition. The simp lified procedures could have 
a positive impact as well.  Impact on third countries: A positive security impact can also be 
expected on third countries. Security is a pr econdition for economic and social development. 
8. A
SSESSMENT OF FINANCIAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS OF THE PREFERRED 
POLICY OPTION  
The assessment is based on the (limited) data made available by public authorities and private 
parties, plus figures extracte d from the EUROSTAT database. 
A. Current situation  
I. Estimation of the number of licences 
Based on the a) licences  issued in the MSs that provided data (approx. 14 000), b) the quantity 
of imports and exports  in those Member States  (5 806 736) and c) the q uantity of imports and 
exports in the entire EU = 13 148 80115 , and assuming that the 16 other MSs have similar 
licensing procedures , the total number  of licences in the 27 MS s would be around 35 000 (14 
000 x 2.5). 
The estimation of the yearly number of  licences would therefore add up to 25/30 000,  a figure 
indirectly confirmed by a priv ate party who referred to 15/20  000 licences for exports and 5 
000 licences for imports, per year.  
II. Estimation of curre nt costs for businesses 
The preparation of an application ta kes between 1 and 4 man-hours, i.e. 2 hours on average.  
If a standard tariff of 50 euros/hour  is used, the total administrative burden is 100 
euros/licence. The estimation of current  administrative costs fo r businesses ranges from € 2 
500 000 to € 3 000 000 per year . 
                                                 
15 Taking into account that the Member States that replied to the consultation account for more than 40 
percent of the import and export total. 
EN 9   EN III. Estimation of current costs for public authorities of Member States 
None of the interviewed authorit ies could provide an estimation of the necessary capacity in 
man-hours per licence, due to a lack of available data. 
B. Future situation  
• Estimation of impacts of the ‘Shall’ provisions of the preferred policy option 
Estimation based on total durati on for applying the provisions is between 5 and 10 hours 
depending on the involvement of transit count ries, which corresponds to an administrative 
burden per licence of 250 to 500 euros. 
• Impacts of implementing the ‘Shall’ provisions on Member States 
The majority of the MSs believed that the impact  on the structural administrative costs would 
be slight.  
• Estimation of impacts of  ‘May’ provisions and other mitigating measures  
Implementation of the ‘May’ provisions and of the other accompanying measures would 
mitigate the financial and administrative costs as shown in the estimations that follow. 
• Estimation of total costs of the pr eferred policy option for businesses  
Transit apparently involves only 10% of shipme nts; the use of standardised or electronic 
documents and open licences for multiple shipments would result in a decrease by approximately 30%
16 in the number of licences issued. Th e total cost of the preferred policy 
option would therefore range from € 3 850 000 to € 4 620 000 per year.  
• Estimation of total costs of the preferred  policy option for public authorities 
Each policy option would entail a series of ‘ no recurring’ costs (implementation of the new 
Regulation, familiarisation with the new provisions , training of staff). Most of the consulted 
representatives of MSs believe d that no immediate or long -term budgetary consequences 
would occur. 
C. Comparison of estimated costs for businesses and public authorities between current 
and future situation 
Based on the above-mentioned estimations  the increased administrative costs for all EU 
businesses due to the prefe rred policy option would range from € 1 350 00017 to € 1 620 000.  
Financial costs for businesses getting accustomed to the new Regulation will probably 
increase as well. Only a small increase (if a ny) in costs for public authorities of MSs is 
expected. 
                                                 
16 Prudent estimation that takes into account comments by  representatives of the EU private stakeholders 
who stated that the total amount of licences is that of the shipments. 
17 This estimation would mean that the increase in financial and administrative costs would represent only 
0.19% of the total value of exports in 2007 . 
EN 10   EN Proportionality. A Regulation is the legislative instrument needed to address commercial 
policy matters. Proportionality is ensured by limiti ng the proposal to the mandatory provisions 
of Art. 10 UNFP. The preferred option takes account of the exis ting legislations of the MSs 
and does not go beyond what is necessary to achie ve the objective with the exception of those 
measures aimed at addressing - where possibl e - the concerns of private stakeholders. 
9. MONITORING AND EVALUATION  
Based on an identified list of indicators aime d at assessing the progres s and the effectiveness 
of the preferred option in achieving the ma in policy objectives, monitoring could involve 
reporting activities (Commission and MSs). The Commission coul d report on the status of 
implementation after five years. An overall ev aluation of the measures adopted could follow. 
Comparing ‘results achieved’ against ‘objec tives’ would allow the Commission to decide 
whether proposals for amendments should be put forward.