Press release: Commission welcomes Parliament agreement to strengthen gun control in the European Union

The fight against criminality and firearms trafficking will be reinforced at EU level in the future after the approval by the European Parliament of the European Commission’s proposal at first reading. The new measures will make proper and complete marking of firearms compulsory. It will extend the duration for record-keeping for data on firearms and ban the purchase of firearms by persons less than eighteen years old. Moreover, the amendments adopted by the European Parliament after an intense dialogue with the Council and the Commission will ensure that traceability for all firearms will be strengthened and rules for the acquisition and possession of firearms will be more rigorous. These requirements will also apply to converted firearms. The measures will also align the pre-existing Directive 91/477 on firearms with the so-called 'United Nations Firearms Protocol' to which the Community acceded in 2001, opening the way towards its ratification.