Consultation on the evaluation of Regulation 258/2012 on export, import and transit licensing or authorization systems of firearms, their parts and components

Policy field(s)

Borders and Security, Customs, Trade

Target group(s)

Contributions to this public consultation are sought from individuals, public authorities as well as civil society, academic institutions, international organisations, and the private sector.

The Commission would in particular like to encourage firearms producers and dealers, importers and exporters of firearms to participate.

Period of consultation

From 01.03.2017 to 24.05.2017

Objective of the consultation

This consultation takes place in the framework of an overall evaluation of Regulation 258/2012. Regulation 258/2012 was adopted by the Parliament and Council on 14 March 2012 to establish export authorisation, and import and transit measures for firearms, their parts and components and ammunition in compliance with Article 10 of the UN Firearms Protocol.

The Regulation addresses the illicit manufacturing of and trafficking in firearms, their parts and components and ammunition. It applies only to firearms, their parts and essential components and ammunition for civilian use and not to those intended specifically for military purposes. Furthermore, it only addresses trade with and transfers from or to third countries. It does not concern possession, acquisition or transfers within the Union, which is governed by Firearms Directive, which has been recently evaluated and is subject to a proposal for revision.

On that basis, the Commission will make recommendations with a view to enhance the fight against firearms trafficking. For more information on this consultation, please read the background document and the roadmap.

The evaluation will assess in particular

With respect to external trade, the economic situation, competitiveness and structure of the firearms sector in the EU including major trends and developments and international comparisons;

Possible full, partial, mistaken or non-implementation of the provisions of the Regulation;
The division of responsibilities between the responsible bodies and information sharing between them
Export procedures
The relevance of the categories of weapons and the consistency with the amended legal framework for firearms in the Single Market (revised Firearms Directive and Implementing regulation on deactivation standards)

For more information on this consultation, please read the background document and the roadmap.

How to submit your contribution

You can contribute to this public consultation by filling out the online questionnaire. You may find it useful to refer to the background document which are published alongside this consultation.

Replies may be submitted in any EU official language. Given possible delays in translating comments submitted in some languages, contributions in English, French, German and Italian are welcome, as they will help the Commission to process the survey more swiftly.

As part of the European Transparency Initiative, the Commission asks organisations (including NGOs, trade associations, enterprises etc.) who wish to participate in public consultations to provide the Commission and the public with information about whom and what they represent, their objectives, funding and structures, by registering in the Transparency Register and subscribing to its Code of Conduct.

If you are a Registered organisation, please fill in your Register ID number in the questionnaire. Your contribution will then be considered as representing the views of your organisation.
If your organisation is not registered, you have the opportunity to register now [hyperlink]. Then return to this page to submit your contribution as a Registered organisation.

If an organisation decides not to provide this information, it is the Commission's stated policy to list the contribution as part of the individual contributions (Consultation Standards, see COM (2002) 704, and Communication on ETI Follow-up, see COM (2007) 127 of 21/03/2007). These replies will be published separately.

Disclaimer and data protection

The objective of this consultation is to gather the views of stakeholders and others, possibly for publication on the internet. The questions do not reflect the European Commission’s official position and in no way prejudge any decisions it may take in future on the framework for labour migration. As this online service collects and further processes personal data, it is subject to Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data by the Community institutions and bodies and on the free movement of such data.

Received contributions will be published on the Internet, unless you provide a substantial justification for your opposition to the publication of your contribution. It is important to read the specific privacy statement attached to this consultation for information on how your personal data and contribution will be dealt with.

The Commission stores personal data securely and does not share it with other parties. It will be entered in a list of contact details shared internally among Commission staff for the purpose of contacting you in the context of the Commission’s activities in the future. If you do not agree to this, please send an explicit objection to the Controller using the contact information included in the privacy statement [hyperlink].

Reference documents and other, related consultations

Results of consultation

Contact details

Responsible service:
European Commission
DG Migration and Home Affairs
Unit HOME D3 – Organised crime and Drugs Policy - Task-force Firearms
E-mail:
HOME-TASK-FORCE-FIREARMSec [dot] europa [dot] eu (HOME-TASK-FORCE-FIREARMS[at]ec[dot]europa[dot]eu)
Postal address:
European Commission
Directorate General for Migration and Home Affairs (DG HOME)
Unit HOME D3 – Organised crime and Drugs Policy
Rue du Luxembourg 46, B-1049 Brussels
Belgium

Deadline: from 24/05/2017 to: 24/05/2017