Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-11-28-Speech-3-200"
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"en.20071128.21.3-200"2
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Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, a very protracted process is nearing what I hope will be a successful conclusion. Let me start, then, by expressing my warm thanks to everyone who has made a valuable contribution to this process: the shadow rapporteurs from the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection, Mr Podestà, Mr Lehtinen and Mrs Riis-Jørgensen, the Committee Chairman Arlene McCarthy, and the secretariat responsible, the staff of the rapporteurs for the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, Mr Alvaro, and others who supported the process, the Council Presidency, represented by António Delicado and his colleagues and last but not least, the Commission, represented by Mr Michel Ayral and his colleagues, who were motivated by their Commissioner, Mr Verheugen, to find a common solution.
I have learned a great deal throughout this process. I have learned about the true role that lobbyists can play: some of them contributed constructively to achieving common solutions, whereas others deliberately set out to obstruct the process with half-truths and misinformation. From the outset, it was obvious to me that it is no simple matter to strike the right balance between the requirements of a well-functioning internal market, the justified safety concerns of citizens about the illegal use of firearms and the understandable desire of hunters and sports marksmen to pursue their hobbies largely unhindered. As Mr Verheugen has said, we wanted to utilise the experience gained with the application of Directive 91/477/EEC, remove some of the shortcomings identified, and transpose the UN Firearms Protocol, which was signed by the Commission back in 2002, into Community law. We were therefore obliged to include specific articles to cover the illegal use, trade and acquisition of firearms. This compromise takes account of these requirements. I admit that I would have preferred even more clear-cut provisions here and there, for example in order to achieve better legislation or to simplify matters, and indeed to reduce the number of firearms categories to two on a Europe-wide basis, as is already the case in two-thirds of the Member States. However, I was unable to secure majorities here.
Overall, however, I am very satisfied with the compromise achieved. Let us consider for a moment: we will thus be implementing a partially harmonised firearms law in 27 Member States. We still have very disparate firearms laws in place at national level, and this partial harmonisation will facilitate legal trade and make a contribution to greater safety. A 100% guarantee that there will be no abuse is impossible, but as we have already heard, we should recognise that we have an obligation to try, as far as possible, to prevent tragedies such as those which occurred in Germany, Finland or Belgium.
I do not intend to focus on the details of the new legislation now; you are familiar with them already and Mr Verheugen has already mentioned a number of them. I welcome the fact that, by 2014, we will have a computer-based firearms register in the Member States; this will improve information exchange and do much to facilitate traceability in the event of abuse, and may even make traceability possible in the first place. We take the Internet age into account as well, as the provisions will apply to online purchases just as they do to face-to-face trade.
May I conclude by making a number of points which should make your decision easier and counter the arguments of those who oppose better European firearms legislation. The directive will not apply to weapons and ammunition collectors, to public services or to cultural and historical institutions. The provisions will not apply retroactively. We are proposing national firearms registers, not a European register. Although we do have a register of that kind for cows, it seems to be more difficult to achieve in relation to firearms. Nor are we opposed on principle to manufacturers, dealers, sports marksmen or hunters who deal responsibly with firearms with full awareness of their special nature.
I have been told that, when the original Directive was debated in the 1990s, very serious concerns were expressed, and the discussions became very emotional. Later, though, this Directive came to be regarded as very helpful, practical and effective. In that sense, I am confident that the compromise before you will also be a success, and I count on your support."@en1
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