The European Commission is urging EU member states to adopt what it is describing as a common set of “minimum rules” limiting the ownership of guns across the 27-member bloc. The proposal by the EU executive, which was endorsed by the European Parliament on November 29, makes proper and complete marking of firearms compulsory. It also imposes strict conditions on the use of guns by minors and calls on member states to set up a computerised firearms database by the end of 2014. This database, accessible by the police and judicial authorities, would hold detailed information about guns and their owners for a minimum of 20 years.
Gun dealers will also have to maintain a register of all guns throughout the period of their activity, rather than the current five years, while people convicted of a violent intentional crime would be banned from buying one. Those below the age of 18 would only be allowed to possess a firearm for hunting or target shooting. The Commission directive, which is expected to be discussed by EU justice ministers meeting in Brussels this week, comes in the wake of a tragic incident in Finland, where a high-school student killed eight people in a school shooting.
The November 7 shooting spree sparked several copy-cat threats, some of them in Germany. “Recent dramatic events have shown just how necessary it is to better control the purchase and circulation of arms,” said Commission Vice- President Gunter Verheugen. Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) debated the new rules on the acquisition and possession of weapons, especially with a view to Internet sales and guns “converted” by criminals. They also called for the European Firearms Pass to be upgraded. MEP Gisela Kallenbach of Germany, the rapporteur on the question, said that “We were looking to find a balance between the security interests of citizens and the legitimate demands of hunters and sportsmen.”
There are more guns in Europe than might you think. According to the “Small Arms Survey,” a Geneva-based nongovernmental organisation, the average number of firearms per 100 people is 46 in Finland, 36 in Cyprus, and 32 in Sweden. These are often used for hunting. In contrast it’s nine in Estonia and Ireland, three in the Netherlands and one in Poland. In the United States the figure is 90 guns per 100 people. The proposals also targets arms trafficking: criminal gangs who make and smuggle arms would be covered by the new directive with a stricter definition of what the practice is. Ammunition and gun parts would also be included.