MIL-OSI Europe: Written question – Victims and escalation of urban violence due to the misuse and spread of illegal weapons in European cities – E-001789/2025

Question for written answer  E-001789/2025
to the Commission
Rule 144
Giuseppe Antoci (The Left)

The recent shootings in European cities, such as those in Sicily[1], Brussels[2] and elsewhere in the continent, have caused civilian casualties and confirm an upsurge in urban violence linked to the spread of illegal firearms. There are, it is estimated, over 35 million unregistered weapons in circulation in Europe[3]many held by young people and criminal groups.

The new ‘Protect EU’ strategy cites firearms as a key factor in the rise of violence and commits to proposing common criminal law standards on illicit gun running[4]. The EU Council has also adopted new rules to improve traceability, enhance customs cooperation and make the weapons trade safer³.

Law enforcement go hand-in -hand with a strategy to promote a cultural shift towards civilian disarmament and combat the subculture of armed violence.

As part of the Internal Security Fund, the Commission has launched a specific call for projects to combat illicit weapons trafficking[5].

Can the Commission therefore say:

• 1.Whether it can it provide updated data on the illegal circulation of firearms in Europe?
• 2.Whether it plans to allocate new resources to improve preventive measures and law enforcement, particularly in the most vulnerable urban areas[6], by supporting local authorities and law enforcement agencies in disarmament and youth prevention programmes?

Submitted: 2.5.2025

• [1] https://www.ansa.it/sito/notizie/cronaca/2025/04/27/sparatoria-a-monreale-tre-morti-fermato-un-19enne_315f73cd-3cab-4fdb-b123-bb84ccc5b403.html.
• [2] https://www.ansa.it/europa/notizie/rubriche/altrenews/2025/04/17/nuova-sparatoria-a-bruxelles-in-area-segnata-da-guerra-tra-gang_62a9f373-4fbf-4984-be53-ff74a0ae2317.html.
• [3] These figures are for 2017.
• [4] https://home-affairs.ec.europa.eu/policies/internal-security/organised-crime-and-human-trafficking/trafficking-firearms_en.
• [5] https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/isf/wp-call/2023-2025/call-fiche_isf-2024-tf2-ag-protect_en.pdf.
• [6] Siap, the Italian police union, recently stated that there are actual lawless urban ‘no-go zones’ where the availability of weapons is both a symptom and a cause of a deep-rooted social crisis.