Transcript Proroghe termini

The Right to Bear Arms – Moscow
31 October – 1 November 2013
INSTITUT EUROPEEN DES ARMES DE CHASSE ET DE
SPORT (IEACS)
IEACS is a non-profit International
Association with Scientific aim founded
in 1977 and registered under the Belgian
law in 1980.
IEACS was recognized by the European
Authorities as spokesperson for the
sporting firearms industry.
IEACS mission is to study all the issues
related to the sporting firearms industry
and establish a dialogue between the
Industry, the actors of other sectors and
international and European bodies.
IEACS has established during the years
solid relations with the European
institution such as European Parliament,
European Commission and the Council.
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THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF THE SPORTING FIREARMS
AND AMMUNITION INDUSTRY IN EUROPE
• Surveys conducted by various organizations indicate that the hunting
and shooting sports market generates in excess of € 18 billion of
economic activity annually. This activity supports more than
580.000 jobs and the overall impact on the economy of hunting and
shooting sports activity would be in excess of € 40 billion, annually
• The EU sporting firearms activities represent a substantial socioeconomic sector (including many thousands of small and mediumsized enterprises) with the participation of well over 10 million lawabiding and responsible citizens
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THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF THE SPORTING FIREARMS
AND AMMUNITION INDUSTRY IN EUROPE
•
There are more than 1.800 manufacturers, 200 distributors and
14.000 retailers in Europe whose business is totally or largely
dependent on the hunting or recreational shooting market
•
The EU production of civilian firearms is estimated in 2 million
units annually
•
The EU production of sporting ammunition is estimated in less
then 3 billion pieces annually
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DIRECTIVE 91/447/EEC OF THE COUNCIL
of 18 June 1991 on control of the acquisition and possession of weapons
1.Definition, at European level, of firearm (prohibited and allowed in 4
categories) and gunsmith.
2. Establishment of the European Firearms Pass, a document that allows the
free movement of hunters and target shooters bearing firearms throughout
the Community (successively Union)
3. Establishment of control standards on the personal and professional
reputation of the gunsmith and trace his/her activity through registers.
4. It is established that the right to hold firearms and ammunition is given to
citizens of MS who are, in general, older than 18 years old and do not
constitute a danger to themselves, to public order or public security.
5. Establishment of a simplified system for the transfer of firearms within the
Community (EU) , based on the prior agreement of the country of destination,
and on the authorization of the country of departure.
6. It is established among MS a network to collect information in relation to
firearms transfers and to the application of the Directive.
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RECENT EU LEGISLATION
The recent implementations in European Law about firearms have
been influenced by the endorsement of the Protocol against the Illicit
Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Their Parts and
Components and Ammunition. The Protocol covers both military
weapons and civilian firearms, a mixture which is not always
appropriate
For civil firearms, the implementation of the protocol occurred in two
phases:
• Directive 2008/51/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council
of 21 May 2008 amending Council Directive 91/477/EEC on control of
the acquisition and possession of civilian firearms concerning: marking
of firearms; traceability and storage of data; brokering activities;
neutralization / deactivation of firearms
• EU Regulation No. 258/2012 of the European Parliament and of the
Council of 14 March 2012 implementing Article 10 of the Protocol,
providing for export permits for civilian firearms, their parts and
ammunition; measures related to import, transit, and temporary export.
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DIRECTIVE 2008/51/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
AND OF THE COUNCIL
of 21 May 2008 amending Council Directive 91/477/EEC on control of the acquisition
and possession of weapons
The Directive establishes common rules for the control of acquisition and
possession of firearms in the Member States, as well as their transfer to
another Member State. Its scope of application includes also ammunition,
and therefore brings new definitions for “firearm”, “part” and “ammunition”.
The Directive also:
 establishes the obligation to register all firearms transfers and to keep
such records
 encourages the exchange of information between Member States
 strictly controls the acquisition of firearms via the Internet and/or other
means of distance communication
 implements the Firearms pass
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REGULATION (EU) No 258/2012 OF THE EUROPEAN
PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL
of 14 March 2012 implementing Article 10 of the United Nations’ Protocol against the illicit
manufacturing of and trafficking in firearms, their parts and components and ammunition
1. The maximum time limit by which the authority must grant an export license
cannot be longer than 60 working days.
2. For transit permits, it is possible to apply the principle of tacit approval when the
state towards which the request is sent does not reply within 20 working days .
3. The transit permit does not apply to transport by air and sea crossing a third
country or passing through its territorial waters.
4. The transit permit is not required for temporary exports, for trade fairs and
exhibitions, evaluations and repairs.
5. Export authorizations provided: Individual licenses; Multiple licenses; Global
licenses.
6. The initial text provided that hunters and sport shooters, in case they’d go out
from the territory of a Community country through a mountain passage not
belonging to his/her own country, the authorities of that mountain passage had to
notify his/her country of residence about the exit of firearms and ammunition. Now,
this requirement is no longer valid, except in cases of suspicious legality.
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DG HOME
19 NOVEMBER 2012, BRUSSELS
HIGH-LEVEL CONFERENCE OF THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION "FIGHT
AGAINST ILLICIT TRAFFICKING IN FIREARMS. WHERE DO WE STAND”
In the speech delivered by Cecilia Malmström, EU
Commissioner for Home Affairs, it was pointed out
that the Commission will soon take action to
provide answers to the public opinion. Europe must
be aware that the journey so far undertaken to
comply with the UN requests on the firearms
protocol seems not to be sufficient. It is not
possible to be passively subject to the entry into
circulation of weapons from the recent Balkan war
scenarios. Three goals were set for this part of
legislature:
• to identify certain types of civilian firearms to
include in the category of prohibited firearms
• to have a common standard for the deactivation of
weapons and firearms
• to have further controls on firearms owners
DG HOME
 JANUARY 2013: EC Task Force Firearms The DG Home created the
“EC Task Force Firearms” with the aim to publish a communication
within the end of the year that should contain guidelines for the
deactivation of firearms, the identification of the types of firearms to ban,
and the existence of rules on technical security features to ensure that
only rightful owners of firearms can actually use them.
 APRIL 2013: Public consultation on a common approach to
reducing the harm caused by criminal use of firearms in the EU
The DG Home launched the Public consultation on a common approach
to reducing the harm caused by criminal use of firearms in the EU
 11 APRIL 2013: Expert group on measures against illicit trafficking
in firearms to safeguard the EU’s internal security (‘THE FIREARMS
EXPERT GROUP FEG’)
DG HOME
 21 OCTOBER 2013: COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO
THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
Firearms and the internal security of the EU: protecting citizens and
disrupting illegal trafficking
(1) Safeguarding the licit market for civilian firearms through new EU standards
on which firearms can be sold for civilian use, how firearms should be marked, and
how to licence persons who wish to possess and to use firearms.
(2) Reducing diversion of firearms into criminal hands through the development
of effective standards on safe storage of civilian firearms and on how to deactivate
civilian and military firearms, and greater efforts to reduce illicit trafficking of firearms
(whether civilian or military) from outside the EU.
(3) Increasing pressure on criminal markets through better cross-border
cooperation between police, customs and border guards and by assessing the need
for common EU rules on which offences linked to firearms should be criminalised
and what level of criminal sanctions should be imposed by Member States.
(4) Building better intelligence by gathering and sharing more information on
firearms crimes, and by targeted training of law enforcement officers.
DEADLINES
• DECEMBER 2013: kickoff FEG meeting
• APRIL 2014:
2 impact assestment studies:
- Impact assessment study on options for
combatting illicit arms trafficking in EU
- Impact assessment study on the
reopening of the firearms directive
• JULY 2015:
report of the EC on the situation resulting from the application of this
Directive, accompanied, if appropriate, by proposals.
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CONCLUSIONS
PRIORITY 1
MOST OF THE RESTRICTIONS ON THE FIREARMS FIELD COME
FROM THE INTERNATIONAL ARENA (UNITED NATIONS, OSCE,
WASSENAAR ARRANGEMENT)
PRIORITY 2
TO PROTECT OUR FIELD IN ALL ITS ASPECTS, IT IS NECESSARY TO
BE PART OF THE DISCUSSIONS
PRIORITY 3
IT IS IMPORTANT TO JOIN OR CREATE ASSOCIATIONS AT NATIONAL
LEVEL ABLE TO DEAL WITH NATIONAL AUTHORITIES
PRIORITY 4
EVERY ASSOCIATION MUST SHARE INFORMATION AND JOIN
RECOGNIZED REGIONAL OR INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATIONS, MANY
OF WHICH ALREADY EXIST. WHAT REALLY MATTERS IN THESE
ASSOCIATIONS IS THE PEOPLE INVOLVED, NOT THE MONEY.
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THANK YOU!
For further information please contact:
Dr. Mauro Silvis
IEACS Secretary General
C/O CONFINDUSTRIA
V.le dell’Astronomia, 30
00144 Rome – ITALY
Ph. +39 06 5903510
Fax: +39 06 54282691
[email protected] – www.ieacs.eu
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