BRUSSELS (AP) – France and Belgium will urge their European partners on Friday to tighten gun laws, toughen border security and choke off funds to extremist groups, a week after at least 129 people were killed in attacks in Paris. But at an emergency meeting in Brussels, European Union interior and justice ministers will not agree on any new measures that could be immediately introduced to restore calm among countries rattled by the coordinated strikes in the French capital.
Indeed, documents prepared for their talks and seen by The Associated Press show that the ministers will merely try to push forward on priorities already identified, but not acted on, by EU leaders following the attacks in Paris in January on a satirical newspaper and a kosher grocery.
Here’s a look at what’s up for discussion:
WEAPONS AND EXPLOSIVES CRACKDOWN
The ministers will examine new proposals, including a ban on some semi-automatic weapons and a guarantee that no private individual can own one, even if it has been permanently deactivated. At least one officially deactivated weapon was put back into service in Belgium and used in the attacks in Paris in January. Also on the list are tighter rules to prevent the purchase of arms or ammunition over the Internet; stricter conditions on collectors to limit the risk their guns might be sold to criminals; common EU standards for marking weapons so they are easier to trace; and better information exchanges so a person banned from buying a firearm in one country can’t get one by crossing a border. A crackdown on illegal weapons or explosives coming from the Balkans, and other former or current conflict areas, is likely too.