(A3-60/91 - von Wogau)

Tuesday, 14 May - Given that the Council has gone along with Parliam-ent's wishes to allow hunters and marksmen to travel freely within the member states without special authorisation provided they have a proper firearms certificate, Karl von Wogau (G, EPP) told the House that the common position on a proposal to control the movement of guns could be approved with certain technical amendments.

The recommendation for approval was also backed by Floris Wijsenbeek (N, LDR), for the legal affairs committee, Francois de Donnea (B, LDR) and Bryan Cassidy (Dorset East and Hampshire East, ED). Both Mr de Donnea and Mr Cassidy oppose any amendment to the common position.

Mr Cassidy particularly criticised an amendment which, he said, would make it more difficult for instance for someone to loan a gun to a guest at a rifle club and would also, he believed, stifle learners.

However, Alman Metten (N, Soc) disagreed as he thought there should be rigorous control over the temporary handing over of firearms. Given that the common position had been unanimously adopted in Council, he neverthel-ess accepted that the manoeuvre for further change was limited.

For the Greens Brigitte Ernst de la Graette (B) took the view that more stringent controls were necessary.

Winnie Ewing (Highlands and Islands, RBW), drawwing attention to sportsmen and clay pigeon shoots in the Highlands of Scotland, opposed the latest raft of amendments from the committee which she said were bureaucratic and placed an extra financial burden on those who could not afford it.

Anne McIntosh (Essex North East, ED) too opposed the amendments although she was concerned to strike a balance between defending the legitimate rights of the shooting community and guaranteeing the safety of EC citizens. It was important to avoid another Hungerford, she said, expressing her concern that semi-automatic weapons now banned in the UK would not be allowed into the country post-1992.

Replying for the Commission, Martin Bangemann told the House that the compr-omise unanimously agreed in Council represented a balanced position that he felt should not be disturbed at this stage, hence he too could not agree with the amendments, numbers 2 and 15 excepted. He was, however, pleased to report that the legislation would also cover mail order.