Following the massacre in Norway, new rules have been adopted in Europe that regulate the movement of weapons for civilian use, hunting and sport shooting, in the territories of the European Union.
13 October 2011 - The European Union had in fact confirmed the need to clarify as much as possible the regulatory framework concerning the export and import of weapons intended for civil use within the European Union.
To this end, the European Parliament has adopted the new rules on the basis of a text already informally agreed with the European Council; the will is to have the greatest possible security so that both hunters and sport shooters who leave the European Union for certain periods are not forced to undergo unnecessary formalities.
For the European Union a turnover of around 670 million euros has been estimated in the arms sector for exports and about 220 million euros for imports.
Promoter of the new Community Regulation, "Regulation for the implementation of Article 10 of the United Nations Protocol on firearms for civilian use and related import and export procedures", is the MEP from Agrigento, Salvatore Iacolino.
Iacolino comments on the regulation: "The tragic events in Norway had confirmed the need to create a clear regulatory framework on exports and imports for the civilian weapons sector in the EU, which represents an industrial sector of excellence in Europe and which also involves many sportsmen and enthusiasts".
The new regulation was approved with 624 votes in favor, 17 against, only two abstentions and in fact applies to the United Nations firearms protocol in order to tackle both the manufacture and illicit trafficking of arms through a more incisive and accurate control of the exports of weapons for civilian use such as hunting rifles and weapons for sport shooting.
Under the new rules, European exporters will have to submit to Member States a specific authorization to export firearms and ammunition in countries outside the EU.
The local authorities will have the task of ensuring that the recipient country is not opposed to the import or even the transit of the load of weapons and only afterwards will they be able to issue the authorization. As for instead hunters and sport shooters will be required to justify the reason for their trip and if they return to the European Union area within 24 months they will not need any authorization.
Still in the context of the new European regulation the list of weapons for which authorization is required will be updated by the European Commission which will subsequently inform both Parliament and the Council.
Finally in the new legislation deactivated or ancient weapons are not considered and in the same way, the new rules do not apply to weapons in use by the Armed Forces and Public Authorities of the Member States nor to State-State transactions.