Majority in Lower House for putting an end to dangerous fireworks on New Year’s Eve

For the first time, a majority has been achieved in the Lower House of the Dutch Parliament in favour of banning dangerous fireworks around New Year’s Eve. 

The parties that came together to form this coalition did not include the Prime Minister’s party, VVD, but did include the two other coalition parties, D66 and ChristenUnie. Opposition parties such as GroenLinks, Partij voor de Dieren, SP, PvdA, 50 Plus, SGP, DENK, and lone MP Van Kooten-Arisse all gave their support to the ban as well.

Why is this ban suddenly being seriously discussed? Well, over New Year’s Eve this year, there were several deaths and 1300 injuries, an increase of 100 people since last year. Furthermore, a police officer was kicked in the face over a fireworks dispute, and an elderly man was beaten up for asking some teenagers to take their fireworks elsewhere. All in all, it was a chaotic night.

It is not yet fully clear what constitutes dangerous fireworks. The leader of the PvdA, Asscher, says the ban should include flares and bangers. He wants the police chief, Akerboom, to be involved in the discussion, after his calls for a firework ban after the holidays.

One concern is whether a ban will be possible to carry out: the police do not have enough manpower to be everywhere on New Year’s Eve, after all. Asscher hopes Akerboom will be able to suggest ways that carrying out the ban will be feasible for police.

Will this ban succeed? What do you think? Let us know in the comments below.

Feature image: picjumbo_com/Pixabay

Ailish Lalor
Ailish Lalor
Ailish was born in Sydney, Australia, but grew up by a forest in south-east Ireland, which she has attempted to replace with a living room filled with plants in The Hague. Besides catering to her army of pannenkoekenplantjes, Ailish spends her days convincing her friends that all food is better slightly burnt, plotting ways to hang out with dogs and cats, and of course, writing for DutchReview.

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