Mayors doubt the national fireworks ban can be enforced
Mayors including 26 in Limburg doubt they can enforce the ban on consumer fireworks, which applies nationwide from this year. They say there are too few officers.
Setting off consumer fireworks is banned across the Netherlands from this year. Anyone caught doing so faces a fine of €250, and possessing fireworks can bring a further €100 fine.
Why it matters
- Someone who sets off fireworks and also has some in their possession can be fined €350.
- The ban covers New Year's Eve as well as the rest of the year.
- Only novelty and joke fireworks (fop- en schertsvuurwerk), such as knalerwten (throw-down snappers) and sparklers, remain allowed for consumers, all year round.
Last summer the mayor of Heerlen, Roel Wever, wrote an open letter to the Ministry of Justice and Security on behalf of 26 Limburg mayors. They warned that they could not enforce the ban in their municipalities, partly because of the nearby border: fireworks are still easy to buy in Germany and Belgium.
The Limburg municipalities asked to hold talks with the minister about the ban.
Wever wants to enforce the ban but calls it "practically impossible". "I'm afraid we can't. Then I need more people, and they're simply not there," he says.
Jaap Kuin, mayor of Pekela, says: "Our village is 18 kilometres long. I'm not saying we won't do it. But it will hardly or not at all succeed." The municipality of Tilburg calls the ban "practically unenforceable".
Late last year the Public Prosecution Service (OM) advised the ministry that the options for enforcement are "very limited".
More on safety and emergencies · crime and the courts
Follow the story: OM
JenV (Ministerie van Justitie en Veiligheid)
The Ministry of Justice and Security is the Dutch government department responsible for criminal law, the courts' legal framework, the police, prisons and national security. It sets national rules on public order and safety and oversees the bodies that enforce them. Its rules affect the whole country, so local mayors often deal with it when a nationwide measure needs to work in their own towns.
OM (Openbaar Ministerie)
The Public Prosecution Service, which decides whether suspects are prosecuted and brings criminal cases to court.