Status: December 18, 2021 11:19 a.m.
In order to further relieve clinics in the corona pandemic, the sale of New Year’s Eve bollards will again be banned this year. The fireworks industry calls the ban “symbolic political” and has announced a lawsuit.
The branch association of the fireworks industry has announced that it will take legal action against the ban on the sale of New Year’s Eve bollards. As soon as the ban, confirmed by the Federal Council on Friday, is legally binding, the Federal Pyrotechnics Association will file an urgent action against it, said board member Ingo Schubert. The association also supported various lawsuits against the burning of fireworks in Bremen, Hamburg and Saxony.
The background to the ban is the current burden of the clinics with Covid-19 cases. The legislator argues that hospital capacities must be spared, which is why accidents due to improper use of fireworks should be avoided.
Second New Year’s Eve without firecrackers
The Federal Association of Pyrotechnics contradicted: “There is still a lack of valid data that could be used to check the plausibility of the fact that a significant proportion of the injuries on New Year’s Eve are caused by approved fireworks.” New Year’s Eve fireworks approved for the German market are subject to strict legal requirements, which means that serious injuries can practically be ruled out.
“With a symbolic political ban, the federal and state governments are squandering the trust of citizens. This is a cause for concern because politicians urgently rely on trust in the measures to cope with the corona pandemic,” the association wrote in a statement.
There was already a sales ban last year due to the pandemic. According to the association, lawsuits are still pending in the main proceedings against this ban. The association pointed out that the Lüneburg Higher Administrative Court had overturned a burning ban for the state of Lower Saxony last year.