Particle.news

Download on the App Store

German Interior Ministers Fail to Agree on Broad Private Fireworks Ban

Persistent disagreement over local restriction powers has postponed action on tighter New Year’s fireworks rules.

Image
Image
Image

Overview

  • Ministers at the spring Innenministerkonferenz in Bremerhaven could not agree on proposals to significantly expand municipal authority to ban private New Year’s fireworks.
  • Berlin, Bremen and Hamburg urged granting states more flexibility under explosives law to set their own restrictions, but did not secure a majority.
  • Lower Saxony Interior Minister Daniela Behrens argued that existing legal options for creating prohibition zones already address safety concerns and rejected a blanket ban.
  • Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt offered to convene talks on introducing an opening clause in the federal explosives law to give states more regulatory leeway.
  • The debate follows five fatalities, numerous injuries during the 2024/2025 New Year’s celebrations and a two-million-signatures petition by the police union and environmental groups calling for stricter controls.