European Union interior ministers have approved new measures to tighten rules for the purchase and possession of guns in the 28-nation bloc in the wake of the deadly attacks in Paris and Brussels.

The Friday deal adds more weapons to the list of those banned from civilian possession, introduces joint rules to stop deactivated guns being made operational again and improves the tracing of trafficked markings.

The new agreement also tightens online sales of arms and components, restrict inheritance rules and bans civilian possession of most semi-automatic firearms.

French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said the agreement would "improve the security of European citizens in the face of the terrorist threat and organized crime."

France has been pushing for a crackdown on guns in Europe after its capital witnessed two deadly terror attacks claimed by the Takfiri terrorists operating in the Middle East.

On November 13, 2015, some 130 people were killed and 350 others injured after assailants struck at least six different venues in and around Paris. The attacks were claimed by the Daesh Takfiri group mainly operating in Iraq and Syria.

In January the same year, the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris came under attack, which claimed the lives of some 13 people. Several others were also killed in another assault on a market. The acts of violence were claimed by the al-Qaeda branch in Yemen.

On March 22 this year, two men set off their explosives in the departure hall of the Brussels airport in coordinated blasts that also hit a metro station in the Belgian capital, killing a total of 32 people. The Daesh terrorist group claimed responsibility for the Brussels attacks.

The attacks raised concerns among European Union countries about the EU security and its response to threats from Takfiri groups.

Some countries, such as Poland and the Czech Republic, remained opposed to the agreement on Friday, saying it will unduly punish those who legally possess guns while doing little to clamp down on illegal weapons.

The agreement will go to the European Parliament and Slovakia, which takes over the EU's rotating presidency for six months from July. EU lawmakers must endorse the rules by the end of 2016 before they can come into force.