Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-11-28-Speech-3-198"
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"en.20071128.21.3-198"2
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Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, firearms are not an ordinary type of product like any other. A series of tragic events – in Erfurt, Antwerp, Helsinki and elsewhere – have vividly demonstrated the potential danger that firearms pose to the safety of our citizens, especially children. We therefore need very strict rules governing the manufacture, sale and possession of firearms.
It is now up to the Member States to recognise the sign of the times and, taking account of national conditions, to develop these provisions further on an individual basis. This means that any Member State which considers that more stringent provisions are necessary and appropriate will have my personal support, and I can only encourage these Member States to take such action.
I am relying on your colleagues in the national parliaments to make a clear decision when it comes to the issue of firearms. The watchword must always be ‘safety first’. Today’s decision will clear the way for that, and I would like to thank you for your support in this endeavour.
1) Declaration on Sanctions
'The Commission welcomes the rapid adoption of the Council Directive amending Directive 91/477 on control of the acquisition and possession of weapons, but regrets that the Council opposed its initial proposal regarding Article 16 on criminal sanctions.
The Commission notes that the Community has competence to establish criminal sanctions in conformity with Article 5 of the Protocol against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Their Parts and Components and Ammunition, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime.
Accordingly, the Commission considers that any decision to ratify the Protocol would have to be accompanied by a declaration of competence that correctly reflects the scope of the Community competence.
The Commission reserves its institutional rights in this regard.'
2) Draft declaration on data protection
'The Commission notes that the processing of personal data under this Directive is subject to compliance with Directive 95/46/EC and cannot prejudice the level of protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data under the provisions of Community and national law, and in particular does not alter the obligations and rights set forth in Directive 95/46/EC.
Although our European legislation expressly permits Member States to go beyond the common level of protection afforded by EU law, I am most grateful that Parliament has sought to substantially improve the levels of safety applicable in Europe in respect of firearms. I would particularly like to thank the rapporteur of the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection, Mrs Kallenbach, and the Chairman of that Committee, Mrs McCarthy. My express thanks are due to both of them for their excellent cooperation.
In this respect, the necessity to prolong the minimum period during which the registers containing information on the owners of weapons are kept from ten to twenty years should be justified. The Commission is convinced that such processing of personal data is justified in view both of the dangerous nature and longevity of such weapons and of their possible misuse for criminal purposes, which therefore requires the proper tracing of both firearms and their owners.
The Commission further notes that, in view of the purposes of this Directive, and in accordance with the requirements of Directive 95/46/EC, access to the centralised data filing system, or the system guaranteeing access to non-centralised filing systems, should only be available to police and judicial authorities for the prevention, investigation, detection and prosecution of criminal offences.'
May I remind you of the background to today’s decision. The starting point was the need to make various amendments to our legislation to enable us to ratify the UN Firearms Protocol. A comprehensive revision of Europe’s firearms legislation was not planned until after that. Thanks to you, ladies and gentlemen, we have done all of this in one major step, at the first attempt, in fact, as the Council has also given its blessing to the unified proposal before us today.
Solutions had to be found to a number of difficult issues and today’s outcome stands up to scrutiny. We are not encroaching on the different traditions and cultural specificities in our Member States, where there are long and highly disparate traditions relating to hunting, sports marksmanship and weapons collecting. These have been respected. A European Firearms Pass will make cross-border travel easier and provide a sound basis for transnational meetings of hunters and sports marksmen in future. We have also opted for appropriate marking and registration of firearms to allow cross-border transfer and transport of firearms in the internal market, but making this more transparent and therefore safer.
An important innovation is the registration of all weapons in personal ownership. We need to know who has what. Registration will enable us to curb the illegal ownership or transfer of firearms to an even greater extent. Data will be kept for 20 years, so that traceability is guaranteed for a long enough period. That is certainly to be welcomed. In this context, however, the Commission is considering clarifying, in a declaration, our understanding of the new Recital 9e of the Data Protection Directive.
We have also decided to ban the acquisition of firearms by minors under the age of 18 in future. Europe is thus sending out a clear message that firearms are not something that young people should have access to. Of course, we will still allow junior sports marksmen and hunters under the age of 18 to pursue their hobby but only under adult supervision; that means parents or coaches, for example. There have been far too many tragedies involving firearms that have fallen into the hands of young people. I hope that the new rules will help to avoid further tragedies of this kind and raise awareness, especially among junior sports marksmen and hunters, of the need for particular care when handling weapons.
We have been confronted with one new problem arising as a result of technological developments and criminal activities in Europe: I am referring to the conversion of copy weapons, which in themselves are not dangerous, into fully operational guns. This is a problem which was first drawn to our attention by Mrs McCarthy. This has allowed
circumvention of the law. That will now be stopped. Let me say in passing that we will have to look more closely at the problem of conversion of copy weapons over the next two years in order to close any safety loopholes. The same applies to the question of how we ensure that firearms are deactivated effectively.
As you know, the Commission was in favour of building sanctions into European legislation, as the European Court of Justice’s rulings are clear on this point. The Commission recognises, however, that Recital 8 includes a reference to these sanctions under criminal law and the UN Protocol. That is important, as compliance with Article 5 of the UN Protocol requires sanctions to be applied by Member States. I am confident that this is something that the Member States are envisaging in their national law. A Commission declaration on this issue will also be submitted to the European Parliament’s Secretariat. I would particularly like to thank Mr Alvaro for his support here.
Europe will thus have modern firearms legislation that prioritises the safety of citizens and takes account of the need to protect our children and young people. We are thus increasing the level of protection afforded by Community law."@en1
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"Commission declarations appended to debate"1
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