A European Commission staff working document published on 17 July 2026 evaluates Regulation (EU) 2019/1148 on explosives precursors, covering the period from February 2021 to September 2025. The evaluation finds the regulation generally effective but identifies significant shortcomings that require legislative revision.
The regulation restricts public access to explosives precursors and requires market participants to report suspicious transactions, disappearances, and thefts. However, law enforcement still frequently discovers illegal manufacturing sites with large quantities of regulated precursors, indicating detection failures by market participants. The evaluation highlights that the 1% weight-by-weight rule for homogeneous mixtures is inefficient, covering too many products from which extraction is unlikely, creating undue costs for businesses. The regulation does not allow the Commission to add new substances to Annex I via delegated acts, limiting swift responses to emerging threats. Customs authorities are not explicitly covered, meaning imported precursors face fewer checks than those produced in Member States. Interpretation issues also arise regarding whether waste is covered (due to reliance on REACH definitions) and whether magnalium powder is covered.
Costs are highest for verifying business-to-business transactions and for national authorities handling inspections and reports. The evaluation concludes that the regulation works but needs revision to close loopholes (customs, waste), reduce burdens (revise the 1% rule), and enable faster updates to address new threats. The Commission is expected to propose amendments to the regulation, which will then be subject to the ordinary legislative procedure involving the European Parliament and the Council.