MEP Marlene Mizzi stressed that any changes to the EU gun directive must find the right balance between the obligation for the states to safeguard citizens' security and public safety and right to ownership of certain types of firearms by law-abiding citizens, sportspersons, collectors, museums and historical or cultural bodies.
Following the November 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris, on 18 November 2015, the Commission adopted a revision of the European Firearms Directive (EFD).
While the Commission aims to make firearms less accessible to terrorists and criminals alike, the outcome of the new law might actually have a reverse effect, potentially driving even more firearms into to the black market said MEP Mizzi following a discussion in the European Parliament.
During the Internal Market Committee's debate on the new rules on gun control, MEP Mizzi stressed that a key concern for her is the lack of any impact assessments on the new rules. "It is difficult to evaluate, without an impact assessment, if the proposed measures will make illegal firearms less accessible to terrorists and criminal or will disproportionately punish the law-abiding citizens thus driving even more guns into to the black market. The lack of an impact assessment is a serious flaw in the Commission's proposal.”, said MEP Mizzi.
"I am in favour of strengthening the rules for the circulation of deactivated firearms, improving the traceability of weapons and having better exchange of information and control between Member States, but I do not agree with the Commission's assumption that all collectors, sportsperson and owners of legally owned weapons are potential criminals or terrorists."
"As an MEP in the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee, which is the Committee in charge of this important file, I will do my best to ensure that the new law safeguards citizens' security and safety without forcing private collectors, museums or law-abiding citizens to destroy their historic firearms which account for a substantial part of national heritage."
Marlene Mizzi said although she agrees with the Commission's objective to make firearms more difficult to obtain, the proposal needs a major surgery to achieve its main goals in tackling the illegal trafficking of firearms, because at this stage it only affects legally-owned and registered guns and gun owners in Europe who already go through various forms of background checks and licensing, threatening them to ban and confiscate at any time anything that is even bought legally. ''A balance needs to be struck between ensuring public safety and safeguarding bona fide collectors, sportspersons and museums'' concluded MEP Mizzi