Romanian legislative approves law increasing penalties for illegally selling firecrackers

The Romanian Parliament approved a draft law that increases the amount of punishment for unauthorized operations with pyrotechnic articles on Wednesday, May 7. Initiators of the bill say that every winter hundreds are injured due to firecrackers, most of them children.

Mihai Weber, the Social-Democratic Party ()PSD) member of Parliament who initiated the bill, says over 560 people suffered injuries or permanent mutilations in this way last year. “These tragedies, which repeat every year, can no longer be tolerated. Through this law, we send a clear message: the health and safety of citizens, especially the most vulnerable among them, is a national priority,” said Weber, according to News.ro.

Supporters of the bill say it represents a decisive step towards reducing accidents caused by the uncontrolled use of pyrotechnic articles and strengthens the authorities' commitment to protecting public health.

According to the new law, organizing of fireworks shows with pyrotechnic articles from category F2 needs to be subject to approval by the competent institutions. “Based on case studies from the last 10 years, during the winter holidays, it was found that people were injured by fireworks in urban areas and were caused by the illegal and improper use of pyrotechnic articles not intended for the general public,” the initiator of the law also conveyed.

Weber also noted that certain pyrotechnic articles can also be used to manufacture improvised explosive devices. A relevant example in this regard is the attack in Covasna, where a person attempted to detonate an improvised explosive device, made from pyrotechnic powder extracted from pyrotechnic. The bomb was supposed to be used at the parade organized in Târgu Secuiesc on December 1, 2015.

(Photo source: Cateyeperspective | Dreamstime.com)