Fireworks in the Netherlands are mostly regulated by the Vuurwerkbesluit ("Fireworks Decree"), a 1993 law that has subsequently been amended many times to make the rules surrounding the production, testing, transportation, storage, trade, sale, consumption and overall safety of fireworks stricter.[1]
During most of the year, most fireworks are restricted to usage by professionals, but there is an exception for ordinary citizens without any special training or licence to ignite fireworks during New Year's Eve from 6 pm on 31 December to 2 am on 1 January. Especially since the 2000 Enschede fireworks disaster,[2] and more so since the accident-laden New Year's Eve of 2007/08,[3] public discussion on more rigorous regulation or even prohibition on (consumer) fireworks has been frequent and ongoing.[4] [5]
At New Year's Eve, ordinary Dutch citizens are allowed to light fireworks from 6 pm on 31 December to 2 am on 1 January. Fireworks need to comply to certain legal standards, and may only be sold during the last three days of the year, excluding any Sundays,[6] at a shop that has a licence.[7] Fireworks are often lit in the streets or in people's backyard.
During Koningsdag ("King's Day"), several municipalities throughout the country organize fireworks shows by professionals.
The Vuurwerkfestival Scheveningen (Scheveningen Fireworks Festival), conducted by professionals, is annually attended by around 200,000 people. In the summer of 2017, the festival experienced its 38th edition. In 2016, there were winter fireworks shows for the first time.[8]
The Netherlands used to host several fireworks manufacturers, but in the late 20th century, almost all production of fireworks was moved abroad. In 2000, there were 26 fireworks companies active in the Netherlands, with branches in Leeuwarden, Appingedam, Lichtenvoorde, Tilburg, The Hague, Enschede, Leiden, Lijnden, Dronten, Lelystad and Landgraaf. 14 of these imported fireworks from especially China for sale on the Dutch market, the 12 other businesses conducted professional fireworks shows. In some factories such as S.E. Fireworks (which ceased producing fireworks itself in 1985), Chinese fireworks were further assembled in the Netherlands before being sold. Since the 1991 explosion of the fireworks factory in Culemborg, almost all fireworks companies operated outside of residential areas; S.E. Fireworks, which caused the 2000 Enschede fireworks disaster, was the last company to still be located in the middle of a residential area before a planned relocation in 2002.[9]
In the Netherlands, the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO) is responsible for safety testing of fireworks.[10] Since 2010, safety testing of fireworks is required in the entire European Union, but companies are allowed to test their products in one member state before importing and selling them in another.[10] A 2010 document from the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Environment revealed that several fireworks importers in the Netherlands did not yet comply with the new testing regulations, but were not penalised for it because a number of companies claimed they needed more time to implement the changes, and they were granted exceptions by the Ministry.[10] Dream Fireworks owner Frits Pen, who claimed to have had his fireworks tested in Hungary for thousands of euros, sued the Ministry for failing to punish his competitors who were allowed to import and sell untested fireworks for free.[10] In 2014, the Ministry stated that, by then, 80% of the fireworks imported into the Netherlands had a CE marking and were being checked.[10]
According to a 2017 report by the Dutch Safety Board, 25% of all fireworks tested failed to meet safety standards and were banned from sale.[11]
Fireworks in the Netherlands are known to cause various negative effects to users, bystanders and people living nearby, especially around New Year's Eve, when extra police, firefighters and paramedics are deployed to control the situation. Which measures do and do not work, and how matters may be improved without 'ruining the party', is subject to ongoing discussion. The negative effects of fireworks can be divided into:
See also: Fireworks policy in the European Union. The original Vuurwerkbesluit was adopted in 1993, and was primarily concerned with environmental issues. In the wake of the 2000 Enschede fireworks disaster, the Dutch government approved new rules regarding consumer and professional fireworks on 22 January 2002, especially concerning the safety of fireworks storage. Since then, the Vuurwerkbesluit has been amended a number of additional times, including the 2014 limitation of the period during which fireworks may be lit during New Year's Eve from 10 am to 6 pm on 31 December.
Since the adoption of the 2007 European Pyrotechnic articles Directive, the Dutch Vuurwerkbesluit has been amended by 2010 to harmonise legislation with that of other EU member states concerning, amongst other things, the categorisation, trade and safety of fireworks, and a common approach of countering illegal fireworks. The updated 2013 Pyrotechnic articles Directive led to another amendment of the Vuurwerkbesluit.
So-called "consumer fireworks" (consumentenvuurwerk or particulier vuurwerk) in the Netherlands consists of category F1 (on sale and usable throughout the year by every person aged 12 and older without a special licence or training),[19] and category F2 and F3 (on sale the last three days of the year, Sundays excepted, which are to be lit from 6 pm on 31 December until 2 am on 1 January). Category F4 is reserved for professionals, and aside from New Year's Eve, categories F2 and F3 are also reserved for professionals. In Belgium, Germany and Denmark, the sale of all category F3 fireworks to consumers is forbidden, but in the Netherlands, some fireworks in this category may be purchased by lay people.[11]
Since 2011, the Dutch College of Attorney Generals has pushed for stricter European rules on fireworks, to prevent category F4 fireworks from being bought in other EU countries and smuggled into the Netherlands. Because of "flaws in the Pyrotechnic articles Directive", there are dangers for local security and terrorist threats.[10]
| It's an intellectual faux pas to assume accidents, eye injuries, can only be caused by illegal fireworks. No. I suspect 80% of my patients are [harmed by] legal fireworks. | |
| Tjeerd de Faber, ophthalmologist (2014) |
For New Year's Eve 2020-21, the government prohibited fireworks, citing that the number of injuries would place too much stress on the healthcare system during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Netherlands.[23]