Pandemic concerns Germany bans sale of New Year's Eve fireworks
Berlin · For the second year in a row, it could be unusually quiet in Germany as people ring in the new year. The sale of New Year's Eve fireworks has been banned once again. For critics, however, it doesn’t go far enough.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, there will once again be a sweeping ban on the sale of firecrackers in Germany in the lead up to New Year's Eve. Under the regulation, which was approved by the upper house of parliament on Friday, no fireworks may be sold over the counters, as was the case last year.
The aim is to prevent accidents caused by the improper use of firecrackers and rockets and thus spare hospitals, which are already extremely burdened by Covid. The decision of the upper house implements a federal-state agreement reached in early December.
"Hospitals and doctors' offices have been under massive pressure because of the pandemic for months," Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) said last week. "We now want to prevent any additional burden and any avoidable medical emergency." The regulation also justifies the stance taken, stating, "A mere ban on the burning of pyrotechnic objects would not be sufficient." Experience shows that even the ban on use before and after New Year's Eve is regularly undermined, it said.
Firecracker ban in public places
While the ordinance approved by the upper house only bans the sale of fireworks, numerous municipalities have also banned the burning of pyrotechnics in public places such as town squares. Such a firecracker ban applies, for example, at Berlin's Alexanderplatz and in large parts of Hamburg inner city.
However, critics fear that more illegal firecrackers will be smuggled in from neighboring countries such as Poland. The main customs office in Frankfurt (Oder) expects 2.5 to 3 tons of illegal fireworks to be smuggled in by the end of the year - and the so-called Polish firecrackers are considered particularly dangerous.
The loss for fireworks manufacturers due to the sales ban is estimated at around 122 million euros. The German Pyrotechnic Industry Association (VPI) has already spoken of a "death blow" for the entire industry in the run-up to the decision. Around 3,000 employees in Germany are faced with unemployment as a result.
For the time being, the sales ban only applies to the upcoming New Year’s, although environmental and animal protection associations have been calling for a general ban on fireworks for years. Besides the risk of injury, they point out other hazards such as fine dust pollution, fires and the stress on animals. Amsterdam, where fireworks are now banned, serves as a model.
Orig. text: dpa
Translation: ck
