No C 235/8 Official Journal of the European Communities 1.9.87 
Proposal for a Council Directive on the control of the acquisition and possession of weapons 
COM(87) 383 final 
(Submitted by the Commission to the Council on 6 August 1987) 
(87/C 235/06) 
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European 
Economic Community, and in particular Article 100 A 
thereof, 
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, 
In cooperation with the European Parliament, 
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and 
Social Committee, 
Whereas Article 3 (c) of the Treaty provides that the 
activities of the Community shall include the abolition, 
as between Member States, of obstacles to freedom of 
movement for persons; 
Whereas, at its meeting in Fontainebleau on 25 and 26 
June 1984, the European Council expressly approved the 
objective of abolishing all police and customs formalities 
at internal Community frontiers; 
Whereas the total abolition of controls and formalities at 
internal Community frontiers entails the fulfilment of 
certain fundamental conditions; whereas in its White 
Paper 'Completing the internal market' the Commission 
stated that the abolition of controls on persons and on 
the safety of objects transported entails, among other 
things, the approximation of weapons legislation; 
Whereas abolition of controls on the possession of 
weapons at internal Community frontiers necessitates the 
adoption of rules enabling controls to be carried out 
within Member States on the acquisition and possession 
of firearms, and on their transfer into another Member 
State; 
Whereas passing from one Member State to another 
while in possession of a weapon should, in principle, be 
prohibited; whereas a derogation therefrom is acceptable 
only if a procedure is adopted that enables Member 
States to be notified that a firearm is to be brought into 
their territory; 
Whereas, however, more flexible rules should be adopted 
in respect of sport and target shooting in order to avoid 
impeding the free movement of persons more than is 
necessary; 
Whereas the Directive is intended only to abolish all 
controls on the possession of weapons when passing from one Member State to another, and does not affect 
the right of Member States to take measures to prevent 
illegal trade in weapons; 
Whereas Article 223 of the Treaty provides that any 
Member State may take such measures as it considers 
necessary for the protection of the essential interests of 
its security which are connected with the production of 
or trade in arms, munitions and war material; whereas 
that Article does not preclude Community measures 
designed to control strictly any transfer of weapons and 
to prohibit all travel within the Community by persons 
possessing weapons of war, 
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE: 
Article 1 
1. For the purposes of this Directive, 'weapons' and 
'firearms' shall have the meanings ascribed to them in the 
Annex. 
2. For the purposes of this Directive, 'dealer' shall 
mean any natural or legal person whose trade or business 
consists wholly or partly in the manufacture, sale, 
purchase, exchange, hiring out, repair or conversion of 
weapons. 
3. For the purposes of this Directive, persons shall, 
regardless of their nationality, be deemed to be residents 
of the country in whose territory their domicile is 
situated. 
Article 2 
Without prejudice to the rights conferred on residents of 
the Member States by Article 7 (2), Member States may 
adopt in their weapons legislation provisions which are 
more stringent than those provided for in this Directive. 
Member States may prohibit persons resident in their 
territory from purchasing or acquiring a weapon in 
another Member State only where they prohibit the 
purchase or acquisition of such a weapon in their own 
territory. 
Article 3 
Each Member State shall make the pursuit of the 
occupation of dealer in its territory conditional upon 
authorization. 
1.9. 87 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 235/9 
Each dealer shall keep a register in which information 
concerning all firearms received or disposed of by him 
shall be recorded, including such particulars as enable 
the weapon to be identified, in particular the type, make, 
model, calibre and serial number thereof, and the names 
and addresses of the supplier and the person acquiring 
the weapon. 
Article 4 
Firearms shall be sold or otherwise disposed of to 
persons not resident in the territory of the Member State 
in which such sale or disposal takes place only if the 
transaction is recorded in a dealer's register as referred 
to in Article 3. 
Article 5 
1. Member States shall prohibit the handing over of a 
firearm to a person resident in another Member State 
unless that person is authorized to receive it by his 
Member State of residence. 
Member States shall permit the handing over of a 
firearm to a person resident in a third country only 
where they satisfy themselves that such firearm leaves the 
territory of the Community. 
2. Small quantities of ammunition may be sold and 
handed over to a traveller in a Member State who is not 
resident in that Member State for the weapons he is 
permitted to possess in the territory of that Member 
State in accordance with Article 7. 
Article 6 
1. Firearms may, without prejudice to Article 7, be 
transferred from one Member State to another, or to or 
from a third country, only in accordance with the 
procedure laid down in the following paragraphs. Only a 
dealer may transfer a firearm or cause a firearm to be 
transferred. 
2. Where a firearm is to be transferred to another 
Member State or to a third country, the dealer shall 
before consignment or transportation supply the 
following particulars to the Member State in which such 
firearm is situated: 
— the names and addresses of the person selling or 
disposing of the firearm and of the person purchasing 
or acquiring it or, where appropriate, of the owner, 
— the address to which the firearm is to be consigned 
or transported, 
—. the number of firearms to be consigned or 
transported, 
— the particulars enabling the firearm to be identified, 
— the means of transfer, 
— the date of departure and the estimated date of 
arrival. Where the Member State authorizes such transfer, it 
shall issue a licence incorporating all the particulars 
referred to in the first subparagraph. Such licence shall 
accompany the firearm during the consignment or 
transport operation until it reaches its destination; it shall 
be produced whenever so required by the authorities of 
the Member States. 
The Member State which issues the licence shall 
immediately send a copy thereof to the Member State of 
destination and to Member States through which the 
firearm is to pass in transit. 
3. Each Member State may supply the other Member 
States with a list of firearms whose transfer to its 
territory may not be authorized without its prior 
consent. The authorization referred to in Article 5 (1) 
shall be deemed to constitute such consent. 
4. Where a firearm is to be imported from a third 
country, the dealer shall supply the Member State of 
importation with all the particulars referred to in the first 
subparagraph of paragraph 2. Where it authorizes import­
ation, the Member State of importation shall 
immediately supply the said particulars to the Member 
States through which the firearm is to pass in transit. 
The import licence must accompany the firearm during 
the consignment or transport operation until it reaches 
its destination; it must be produced whenever so required 
by the authorites of the Member States. 
5. Each Member State shall inform the other Member 
States and the Commission of the national authorities 
responsible for applying the procedure laid down in this 
Article. 
Article 7 
1. The procedure laid down in Article 6 shall be 
followed in respect of possession of a firearm in the 
course of travel in two or more Member States. 
An application for authorization to possess a firearm 
shall, by way of derogation from Article 6, state: 
— the name and address of the person who wishes to 
possess the firearm, 
— particulars enabling the firearm to be identified, 
— the places at which and the respective periods during 
which the person concerned plans to be present in 
the other Member States, and the means of transport 
to be used for the journey, 
— the grounds on which the person concerned wishes to 
possess the firearm during the journey. 
Where the firearm is included in a list supplied pursuant 
to Article 6 (3) by a Member State in which the person 
concerned is to travel, authorization may be granted 
without the prior consent of that Member State only if 
the traveller plans to be present in its territory for less 
than 48 hours. 
No C 235/10 Official Journal of the European Communities 1.9.87 
2. Possession of a sporting or target firearm shall be 
permitted in the course of travel in two or more Member 
States where the person possessing the firearm is in 
possession of a declaration issued by the authorities of 
the Member State in which such firearm is situated. That 
document shall contain: 
— the name and address of the person authorized, 
— particulars enabling the sporting or target firearm to 
be identified, 
— a statement that the person concerned is authorized 
in that Member State to possess such sporting or 
target firearm, 
— particulars of the places at which and the periods 
during which the hunting, shooting or sports 
competitions for the purposes of which the firearm is 
being transported in the possession of the person 
concerned are to take place. 
For the purposes of this paragraph, each Member State 
shall recognize as 'sporting firearm' or 'target firearm' 
any object recognized as such by the other Member 
States in the abovementioned declaration. 
3. A person authorized to possess a firearm or, as the 
case may be, a sporting or target firearm, must be in 
possession of the authorization referred to in paragraph 
1 or the declaration referred to in paragraph 2, 
throughout the journey; the document must be produced 
whenever so required by the authorities of the Member 
States. 
Article 8 
The possession of weapons by persons passing from one 
Member State to another shall be prohibited, except in 
the circumstances defined in Articles 6 and 7 and 
provided the conditions laid down therein are met. Article 9 
1. Member States shall, without prejudice to 
paragraphs 3 and 4, abstain from carrying out controls 
on the possession of weapons at internal Community 
frontiers from 31 December 1992 at the latest. 
2. Member States shall intensify controls on the 
possession of weapons at external Community frontiers. 
3. This Directive shall not preclude the carrying out 
of controls by Member States or by the carrier at the 
time of boarding of a means of transport. 
4. Member States shall inform the Commission of the 
manner in which the controls referred to in paragraphs 2 
and 3 are carried out. The Commission shall collate this 
information and make it available to all Member States. 
Article 10 
Member States shall render failure to comply with the 
provisions of this Directive subject to the same criminal 
sanctions as failure to comply with comparable national 
provisions. 
Article 11 
Member States shall bring into force the laws, regu­
lations and administrative provisions necessary to comply 
with this Directive not later than 30 June 1990. They 
shall forthwith inform the Commission and the other 
Member States of the measures taken. 
Article 12 
This Directive is addressed to the Member States. 
ANNEX 
For the purposes of this Directive: 
A. 'Weapon' means: 
— any firearm within the meaning of point B of this Annex, 
— any side-arm whose blade has more than one cutting edge, any bayonet, stiletto, dagger, flick-knife, 
throwing-knife or swordstick, or, 
— any mace, club, truncheon, knuckleduster, cosh or sling. 
B. 'Firearm' means: 
1. any object which (i) is designed or adapted as a weapon from which a shot, bullet or other missile, 
or a noxious gas, liquid or other substance may be discharged by means of explosive, gas or air 
pressure or by any other means of propulsion, and (ii) falls within one of the specific descriptions 
below, it being understood that subparagraphs (a) to (f) inclusive and (i) include only objects 
utilizing an explosive propellant: 
(a) automatic arms; 
(b) short arms with semi-automatic, repeating or single-shot mechanism; 
(c) long arms with semi-automatic or repeating mechanism with at least one rifled barrel; 
1.9.87 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 235/11 
(d) single-shot long arms with at least one rifled barrel; 
(e) long arms with semi-automatic or repeating meachanism and smooth-bore barrel(s) only; 
(f) portable rocket launchers; 
(g) any arms or other instruments designed to cause danger to life or health of persons by firing 
stupefying toxic or corrosive substances; 
(h) flame-throwers meant for attack or defence; 
(i) single-shot long arms with smooth-bore barrel(s) only; 
(j) long arms with gas propellant mechanism; 
(k) short arms with gas propellant mechanism; 
(1) long arms with compressed air propellant mechanism; 
(m) short arms with compressed air propellant mechanism; 
(n) arms propelling projectiles by means of a spring only; 
provided always that there shall be excluded from this paragraph 1 any object otherwise 
included therein which: 
i) has been permanently rendered unfit for use; 
ii) on account of its low power is not subject to control in the Member States; 
iii) is designed for alarm, signalling, life saving, animal slaughtering, harpooning or for 
industrial or technical purposes on condition that such objects are usable for the stated 
purpose only; 
(iv) was manufactured before 1871 or to a design dating from before 1871; 
2. the firing mechanism, chamber, cylinder or barrel of any object comprised in paragraph 1 above; 
3. any ammunition specially designed to be discharged by an object comprised in subparagraphs (a) to 
(f) inclusive, (i), 0)> (k) or (n) of paragraph 1 above and any substance or matter specially designed 
to be discharged by an instrument comprised in subparagraph (g) of paragraph 1 above; 
4. telescope sights with light beam or telescope sights with electronic light amplification device or 
infra-red device provided that they are designed to be fitted to any object comprised in paragraph 1 
above; 
5. a silencer designed to be fitted to any object comprised in paragraph 1 above; 
6. any grenade, bomb or other missile containing explosive or incendiary devices. 
For the purposes of this definition: 
(a) 'automatic* denotes a weapon which is capable of firing in bursts each time the trigger is operated; 
(b) 'semi-automatic' denotes a weapon which fires a projectile each time the trigger alone is operated; 
(c) 'repeating mechanism' denotes a weapon the mechanism of which in addition to the trigger must be 
operated each time the weapon is to be fired; 
(d) 'single-shot' denotes a weapon whereof the barrel or barrels must be loaded before each shot; 
(e) 'short' denotes a weapon with a barrel not exceeding 30 centimetres or whose overall length does 
not exceed 60 centimetres; 
(f) 'long' denotes a weapon with a barrel exceeding 30 centimetres whose overall length exceeds 60 
centimetres.