Pietro Fiocchi
To the President of the European Commission, Ursula Von Der Leyen
To the Commissioner Jessika Roswall
To the Commissioner Stéphane Séjourné
To the Presidency of the Council of the European Union
To the Ministries concerned of EU Member States
Subject: Letter on lead ban
Dear President, Dear Commissioners, Dear Ministers,
as Members of the European Parliament, we would like to draw your attention to the proposal
currently under discussion in the REACH Committee concerning a total ban on the use of lead
in hunting, fishing and shooting sports.
During the latest meeting of the Committee, the Commission presented an approach which, in
attempting to reconcile different positions, effectively introduced a differentiated treatment
among Member States, granting derogations and “concessions” to certain Northern European
countries – which practice specific types of hunting – while in fact penalising the forms of
hunting that are typical of the Mediterranean area. This raises serious concerns not only
regarding the neutrality and consistency of regulatory action, but also in terms of equal
treatment between Member States and between different socio-economic and cultural sectors
within the Union.
Regardless of the technical merits of the various regulatory options concerning lead, we
believe that, at this historical juncture, moving towards a general ban entails political and
strategic criticalities of the highest order.
In particular: today’s geopolitical context, marked by armed conflicts at Europe’s borders and
by growing international instability, requires the utmost caution with respect to any measure
that could have structural repercussions on the European ammunition industry and, more
broadly, on the Union’s defence industrial and technological base;
the arms and ammunition sector and related activities (including shooting ranges and a
significant part of the hunting and sport-shooting world) constitute an important component
of our strategic autonomy, our supply security and our overall defence industrial system;
proceeding now with a total ban on lead, without having properly assessed the real production
capacity of safe, available and sustainable alternatives, risks weakening European industry to
the benefit of extra-EU competitors and undermining the resilience of our defence value chain
at a moment of maximum international tension.
B-1047 Brussels - SOPHIE SCHOLL 02U041 - +32 2 28 45762
F-67070 Strasbourg - WINSTON CHURCHILL M05059 - +33 3 88 1 75762
[email protected]
For these reasons, we consider it necessary and urgent to suspend the current procedure
within the REACH framework that aims at a total ban on lead in hunting, fishing and shooting
sports and postpone any radical decision in this area to a later stage, when the geopolitical
and European security context will be more stable and when the consequences for the
ammunition industry, the defence sector and local economies linked to hunting and sport
shooting will have been properly assessed through updated impact analyses;
Furthermore, we think it would be useful to launch, in the meantime, a more balanced dialogue
with Member States in order to consider gradual, realistic and technologically feasible
solutions that pursue environmental objectives without de facto causing a structural weakening
of Europe’s defence industrial capacity.
In light of the above, we hereby issue a strong appeal:
to the European Commission, to suspend further steps in the process leading to a total ban on
lead in this sector, acknowledging the exceptional nature of the current geopolitical situation
and the need to safeguard the European defence industrial base;
to the Council and the Member States, to clearly state their support for the suspension and
postponement of this procedure, upholding the necessity not to adopt, at this stage, measures
likely to weaken our industrial capacity and strategic autonomy;
to the Members of Parliament, to closely monitor this dossier and, in the relevant fora, support
the request to stop and postpone the procedure for a lead ban.
In our view, this is not only a matter of finding a fair balance between environmental protection
and the protection of economic and social activities linked to hunting, fishing and shooting
sports, but also – and above all – a question of responsibility for the security of the Union, the
safeguarding of its strategic industries and the cohesion among the different cultural and
territorial models that make up the European project.
Trusting in your attention and sensitivity on such a delicate issue, we remain at your disposal
to contribute to a constructive dialogue and to a more prudent and balanced regulatory path.
Yours sincerely,
Pietro Fiocchi
Carlo Fidanza
Nicolas Bay
Sergio Berlato
Stefano Cavedagna
Anna Cisint
Paolo Inselvini
Marion Maréchal
Michele Picaro
Guillaume Peltier
Nicola Procaccini
Emil Radev
Antonella Sberna
Sander Smit
Antonín Stanek
Flavio Tosi
Laurence Trochu
Dimitris Tsiodras
Brussels, 16 April 2026
Tähelepanu! Tegemist on väljastpoolt asutust saabunud kirjaga. Tundmatu
saatja korral palume linke ja faile mitte avada.
Saatja: "FIOCCHI Pietro" <
[email protected]>
Saaja: "VON DER LEYEN Ursula (EC)" <
[email protected]>, "SEJOURNE Stephane (EC)" <
[email protected]>, "ROSWALL Jessika (EC)" <
[email protected]>,
[email protected].,
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Teema: Letter on lead ban - MEP Pietro Fiocchi and other MEPs
Kuupäev: 2026-04-16 19:04
Dear President, Dear Commissioners, Dear Ministers,
Please find attached the letter on lead ban.
Kind regards,
MEP Pietro Fiocchi
Pietro FIOCCHI
Member of the European Parliament
B-1047 Brussels - SOPHIE SCHOLL 02U041 - Tel. +32 2 28-45762
F-67070 Strasbourg - WINSTON CHURCHILL M05059 - Tel. +33 3 881-75762
<mailto:
[email protected]>
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