European Firearms Directive

European Firearms Directive
Council Directive of 18 June 1991 on control of the acquisition and possession of weapons
Citation	91/477/EEC
Enacted by	Council of the European Communities
Date enacted	18 June 1991
Date commenced	17 October 1991
White paper	Completing the internal market
Amendments
Directive 2008/51/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 May 2008 amending Council Directive 91/477/EEC on control of the acquisition and possession of weapons
Status: In force

The European Firearms Directive is a law of the European Union which sets minimum standards regarding civilian firearms acquisition and possession that EU Member States must implement into their national legal systems.

The Member States are free to adopt more stringent rules, which leads to differences in the extent of law abiding citizens' access to firearms within different EU countries - see Gun laws in European Union countries.

The 1985 White Paper on completion of the internal market (by the European Commission) stressed that the absence of border checks must not provide an incentive to buy arms in countries with less strict legislation. This goal was to be reached by approximation of the countries' national legislation on firearms.

Prior to abolition of the internal border controls under the Schengen Agreement, the Council of the European Communities adopted the Directive 91/477/EEC, which was later, in 2008, amended by Directive 2008/51/EC. As a Directive, it is not a self-executing norm, but a legislative act which requires Member State to achieve a particular result without dictating the means of achieving it. Member States must meet the minimum requirements laid down by the directive, but may also elect to adopt more stringent rules. Certain countries such as the United Kingdom are thus unaffected as they have maintained more stringent gun control laws than those effectively set as a minimum by the European Union, while others, like the Czech Republic, were forced to introduce more regulation in their national legislation.

The original Directive No. 91/477/EC was adopted in 1991 on the background of abolition of intra-Community frontiers. It aimed at partial approximation of national legislation that would prevent passing possession of firearms from one Member State to another, unless it is done according to rules established by the Directive. At the same time, the Directive introduced European Firearms Pass that would allow hunters and target shooter to move between the Member States without unnecessary impediments. Generally, a person with valid European Firearms Pass traveling to or through other Member States may be in possession of one or more firearms during that journey, provided that they are in possession of a European firearms pass listing such firearm or firearms and provided that they are able to substantiate the reasons for their journey, in particular by producing an invitation. That, however, does not apply to a journey through Member States that have more stringent laws and generally prohibit such firearms within their territory.

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