Evaluation of the Firearms Directive

This evaluation study provides an extensive analysis of the implementation of the Firearms Directive, identifies gaps and provides specific recommendations for improvement directed either to the Commission, or to EU country authorities, or to both.

The Firearms Directive (Council Directive 91/477/EEC on control of the acquisition and possession of weapons) provides that the Commission should submit a report to the European Parliament and the Council on the situation resulting from the application of the Directive, accompanied by proposals.

In view of the submission of the report, the Commission launched an evaluation study on the implementation of the Firearms Directive, concluded in December 2014, and carried out by external consultants.

The evaluators produced an extensive analysis of the Directive's implementation, identified gaps and provided specific recommendations for improvement directed either to the Commission, or to EU country authorities, or to both.

The conclusions of the study highlighted critical issues suggesting a legislative intervention of the Commission, mainly:

1. the issue of convertibility of blank firing weapons (such as alarm guns) into real firearms.
2. the fact that requirements for the marking of firearms (allowing their traceability) needs clarifying.
3. the need for common and stringent guidelines for the deactivation of firearms.
4. the need to clarify definitions.

In light of the conclusions of the study, the European Commission adopted on 18 November 2015 a Regulation establishing common guidelines on deactivation standards and techniques for ensuring that deactivated firearms are rendered irreversibly inoperable. On the same day, the Commission also adopted a package of measures to make it more difficult to acquire firearms in the European Union, better track legally held firearms and strengthen cooperation between EU countries.