WRITTEN QUESTION No. 4193/97 by Maria BERGER to the Commission. Private ownership of weapons
Date: 1998-01-14
Institutions: BERGER, European Parliament
Subjects: EC Directive, arms control, drafting of EU law, firearms and munitions, free movement of persons, homicide, hunting regulations, offence, personal weapon, public safety













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91997E4193

WRITTEN QUESTION No. 4193/97 by Maria BERGER to the Commission. Private ownership of weapons  


Official Journal C 223 , 17/07/1998 P. 0070 





WRITTEN QUESTION P-4193/97 by Maria Berger (PSE) to the Commission (14 January 1998)Subject: Private ownership of weaponsFor some time now there has been a steadily growing number of reports of incidents in the various Member States involving gunmen running amok and causing many deaths. The victims are of very diverse origin,different kinds of weapon are used (although most of them are fairly readily available) and the perpetrators are of very varying types. Such incidents can probably only be prevented if the private ownership (and in particular the trade in, and the purchase of, weapons for personal use) is subject to uniformly strict EU-wide regulations and restrictions.In view of such incidents in the Member States, is the Commission intending to tighten up the EU directive on weapons?Answer given by Mr Monti on behalf of the Commission (17 February 1998)Council Directive 91/477/EEC of 18 June 1991, on the control of the acquisition and possession of weapons ((OJ L 256, 13.9.1991. )), was one of the accompanying measures taken in the context of the achievement of the internal market and aims at ensuring the abolition of internal border controls on people. The Directive deals with the free movement of people together with legally held firearms from one Member State to another. As such the Directive is not principally a measure concerning the harmonisation of the legislation of the Member States in relation to possession and control of guns. These important points are set out clearly in the 3rd, 4th and 5th recitals of the Directive itself.The Commission draws the attention of the Honourable Member specifically to Article 2 ¶ 1 of the Directive which states that 'this Directive is without prejudice to the application of national provisions concerning the carrying of weapons, hunting or target shooting' and to Article 3 which states that 'Member States may adopt in their legislation provisions which are more stringent than those provided for in this Directive, ...'. These matters, including the determination of which type of weapon and of which calibre may be held (and with which therefore, in principle, it is possible to travel) remain within the sphere of national competence.The Commission recalls also that by virtue of Article 223 ¶ 1b) of the EC Treaty '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; such measures shall not adversely affect the conditions of competition in the common market regarding products which are not intended for specifically military purposes.'The Commission is however bound to prepare for 1998 a report for the Council and the Parliament on the global position with respect to application of the Directive within the Community. The publication of the intended report may include suggested further initiatives in this domain, but limited nevertheless, to the scope of the Directive itself.