PRAGUE, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- The Czech Interior Ministry said the country on Wednesday filed a lawsuit against the EU directive restricting firearms possession with the European Court of Justice, demanding an invalidation of the directive.
Czech Republic also filed a complaint for suspension of the directive which the EU member states should introduce into their legal systems by mid-September 2018.
Czech Interior Minister Milan Chovanec said he considers the lawsuit as the only possible way to protect the country against the impact of the directive. He said the directive might threaten the country's internal security, for it could lead a large number of weapons to end up in the black market.
The directive on tightening control of firearms has been approved by the European Parliament in mid-March. The aim of the directive is to prevent terrorists from gaining arms easily. However, critics said that the directive mainly restricts the owners and the market of legally-held arms, and strongly infringes on EU member states' internal affairs, which is contrary to EU law.
A wave of protests occurred in Czech Republic. Chovanec said such a massive punishment for decent weapons holders is unacceptable because the ban on legally-held weapons has no connection with the fight against terrorism. The stricter conditions would afflict about 300,000 holders of firearm licences in Czech as well as the owners of weapons modified for blank cartridges, such as those used for theatre or film purposes, that are not yet registered.
