David cameron

The UK Government is set to propose a ban on high-powered, self-loading, semi-automatic weapons in European Union (EU) member states.

The ban will be proposed by the UK Prime Minister David Cameron at the European Council this week, as part of its strategies to counter terrorism.

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Cameron said: "The horrific terrorist atrocities in Paris underlined the scale of the terrorist threat facing Europe.

"A terrorist threat in one country is a danger to all of us, so I believe there is more we must do together to tackle the terrorist threat posed by Daesh."

The UK Government has asked the EU to provide a package of proposals to counter terrorism after the recent attacks in Paris, France.

The proposal will include a number of measures to curb illegal trade in firearms, which will damage the terrorists’ supply chain and to further action to disrupt financing.

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The strategies also aim to improve data-sharing among countries, and boost border and transport security.

As part of the measures, the western Balkans will launch a legislative and enforcement framework to improve firearms intelligence.

The proposed move is also expected to deal with online extremism.

"There is more we must do together to tackle the terrorist threat posed by Daesh."

Cameron added: "We need to ensure that terrorists do not have the weapons with which they can wreak such tragedy. So at this week’s summit, I’ll be calling for a new EU-wide ban on all high-powered semi-automatic weapons and greater co-operation to crack down on the smuggling trade and to stop guns coming in from the western Balkans.

The latest Amnesty International report, entitled ‘Taking Stock: The arming of Islamic States’, stated that the prolonged inflow of poorly regulated arms into Iraq has contributed to a growth in ISIS terrorist crimes.

The news coincides with the Italian police seizing more than 800 shotguns being transported to Belgium, believed to be intended for ISIS, on 27 November.

Image: UK Prime Minister David Cameron. Photo: courtesy of Prime Minister’s Office, 10 Downing Street / Crown Copyright.