Press Release: Council adopts EU-wide rules on the marketing and use of explosives precursors

The Council adopted today a regulation (PE-CONS 48/12) on the marketing and use of explosives precursors. The new rules address the problem of the misuse of certain chemicals that are explosives precursors for the illicit manufacture of explosives which can be used e.g. to carry out terrorist attacks. Existing measures at different levels are either not specifically focused on the security risks associated with such chemicals or do not cover the entire EU. Therefore the precursors that may be restricted or controlled in one country might easily be obtained in another.
The aim of the new regulation is to ensure an increased level of security in the entire European Union by creating a common framework for the access to certain explosives
precursors.