Czech authorities said Wednesday they will ask the European Court of Justice to strike down new EU gun control rules that have its hunters and gun collectors up in arms.
Approved in mid-March by the European Parliament, the new directive notably bans civilians from possessing certain semi-automatic weapons as part of counter-terrorism measures.
"We cannot allow the EU to interfere in the position of member states and their citizens under the guise of fighting terrorism," Czech Interior Minister Milan Chovanec said in a statement.
He added the complaint to be filed by mid-August would request the legislation be invalidated. The ministry will also propose a postponement of its effect.
"I'm not happy about the complaint but we have no other option," he said.
The new legislation took effect on Tuesday and EU members are now obliged to incorporate it in their national legislation within 15 months.
EU commissioner for security, Julian King, said in March the directive sought to curb access to weapons for criminals and terrorists.
The ministry said the directive would affect practically all 300,000 legal firearm licence holders in the country of 10.6 million people which is bracing for parliamentary elections in October.
Besides banning short semi-automatic firearms with loading devices over 20 rounds and long semi-automatic firearms with loading devices over 10 rounds, the directive prohibits long firearms that can be folded or concealed in other ways.
It also introduces measures to make it easier to trace firearms and ensures that firearms converted to blank firing ones for use in theatres or television must be registered under the same category as the original weapons.
The Czech Republic, where there is no recent history of terrorism, has been pushing for softer rules on gun control, unlike other countries like Luxembourg and France which asked for strict legislation.
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