Overview
- Parliament’s nationwide consumer-fireworks ban is set for the coming New Year’s Eve, with a cabinet route allowing associations to apply to municipalities for discharge permits.
- The permit conditions cap each approval at eight designated lighters aged 16 or older with at least two adults present, require sobriety, and, with mayoral consent, allow up to 200 kg of F2 fireworks at an outdoor site accessible to emergency services.
- Additional rules include registration of the group as an association, delivery of fireworks only on 31 December, and local discretion for stricter requirements.
- The police advise that the first years will bring higher workloads through seizures, illegal-trade investigations, and intensified border checks, and they urge swift clarity on compensation for the sector to protect credibility.
- Several mayors, including those of Rotterdam and Delft, say they will not grant such permits under the current plan, while industry and enthusiasts warn of impractical enforcement, regional disparities, potential ‘firework tourism,’ and a shift to illegal trade.