Vicky Ford (ECR, UK), who is steering this legislation through Parliament, said: “We have produced a package of proposals that is workable for sport shooters, hunters, reservists, collectors, re-enactors and others. It is one which keeps the balance between the interests of those legitimate gun owners but also the public interest in a more secure Europe”.

The EU firearms directive sets out the conditions under which private persons may lawfully acquire and possess guns or transfer them to another EU country.

You can find more information on the revised directive in this background note.

Next steps

The draft law is due to be voted by the full Parliament in March (tbc) and then formally approved by the EU Council of Ministers. The provisional deal has already been confirmed by the EU member states’ permanent representatives (COREPER) on 20 December 2016.

Member states will have 15 months from the date of entry into force of the directive to transpose the new rules into national law and 30 months to introduce new systems for sharing of information on firearms.