In that context, Article 13(5) of the Firearms Directive entrusted the Commission to provide Member States with a system for the electronic exchange of information. In addition, it granted the Commission the powers to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 290 of the Treaty of the Functioning of the European Union in order to supplement Directive 2017/853 with the relevant rules laying down the detailed arrangements for the systematic exchange of information by electronic means.

Following discussions with Member States, the Commission decided to provide for an electronic system for the exchange of information with regard to refusals to grant authorisations to acquire or possess firearms classified in category A or B, on grounds of security or relating to the reliability of persons concerned, by enabling the use of the Internal Market Information System ('IMI') established by Regulation (EU) No 1024/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council on administrative cooperation through the Internal Market Information System, specifically customised for such refusals. Accordingly, further to the detailed arrangements for the electronic exchange provided for in this delegated act, in parallel, Commission Implementing Decision (EU) [YYYY/xx] has been adopted to make the administrative cooperation provisions set out in Article 13 of Directive relating to the refusals to grant firearm authorisations subject to a pilot project under Article 4 of Regulation (EU) No 1024/2012.

In the context of discussing the measures to be adopted under Article 13(5) of the Firearms Directive, Member States in an expert group on exchange of information also agreed to the adoption of two delegated acts to deal with the two types of electronic information exchanges foreseen in the Firearms Directive. Consequently, while this delegated act focuses specifically on establishing the detailed arrangements for the systematic exchange by electronic means of information related to refusals to grant firearms authorisations on grounds of security or relating to reliability of persons concerned, the setting up of an electronic exchange system for the exchange of information concerning the transfer of firearms is the subject of another delegated act, namely Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/686 of 16 January 2019 laying down the detailed arrangements under Council Directive 91/477/EEC for the systematic exchange, by electronic means, of information relating to the transfer of firearms within the Union.

The approach of having two delegated acts was based on various considerations. Firstly, the two types of information exchanges potentially involve different actors in the Member States. With respect to the transfer of firearms between Member States, custom authorities in Member States tend to be the relevant authorities in this information exchange. With respect to refusals to grant firearms authorisations, other authorities, depending on the administrative structure of Member States, are more likely to provide the relevant information.

Secondly, the setting up of an electronic exchange of information for refusals to grant authorisations required a more in-depth analysis, notably in respect of data protection considerations.