Estonia, EU – Baltic States, Legislation, Security

The chairman of the standing committee, Marko Mihkelson, said according to the parliament's press service that the positions prepared by the government reflect the positions of the society and interest groups. The proposals made by the members of the parliamentary committee also have been taken into account.

The government decided at the end of January not to support a proposal made in connection with amending the directive to add to the list of class A firearms, or firearms banned from civilian use, automatic firearms converted into semiautomatic firearms as well as semiautomatic firearms resembling automatic firearms.

The Estonian Interior Ministry has said it considers it important to preserve the directive's clause that allows member states to make in national legislation exceptions for the acquisition  and possession of weapons that generally are prohibited for civilian use. Nor does Estonia back a proposal that would restrict the possibility to collect class A firearms. Besides the motion to amend the directive would require additional deactivation of the firearms owned by collectors, which would entail additional expenses.

The government decided in January to withhold support for the proposals to ban semiautomatic firearms and restrict the possibility of collecting class A firearms. At the same time Estonia supports tightening control over the use of firearms and the proposal to include deactivated firearms in the scope of the directive. Estonia is also in favor of setting a common term for weapons permits and the requirement that applicants pass a medical checkup.

The Riigikogu national defense committee supports the Estonian position that common health requirements upon issuing a firearms permit should be established in Europe; at the moment these requirements differ by countries or lack altogether. The committee also supports preventing of illegal arms trade and information exchange that would enable obtaining of information at cross-border level on the refusal by a member state to issue a weapons permit to a person.

The committee does not support including pistols among semi-automatic firearms because this would involve more intensive restricting of the rights of owners of firearms permitted for civilian purposes, depriving them of the right to defend themselves, their family members and property against direct or immediately impending attack. "Prohibiting such pistols would not give the desired result, because it would first of all concern law-abiding citizens," Mihkelson said. 

Estonia does not support the possibility to restrict the collecting of weapons proposed by the directive. The draft amendment to the directive provides that the deactivated firearms owned by collectors should be further deactivated, which would involve additional expenses.

The committee emphasized that implementation of the directive in its proposed form would cause problems mainly to the members of the Kaitseliit and to persons in reserve, and also to hunters and amateur shooters whose firearms have been registered in the civilian register and who use them, among other things, for improving their shooting skills.

Mihkelson said the shooting skills of such people are important from the point of view of national defense, and the level of such skills can be improved or maintained only by constant practice. He drew attention to the fact that persons in reserve can develop their shooting skills only when they take part in reservist trainings. "The amendment to the directive would directly damage the defence capability of Estonia that is based on the reserve army," the MP said.

The proposed amendment to the directive would not concern the firearms entered in the firearms register of the defense forces and Kaitseliit.