Following the example of Amsterdam and Rotterdam, a majority in the Eindhoven city council also wants to ban the firing of fireworks in the city. The fifth municipality in the Netherlands wants to use one or more organized fireworks shows as an alternative, it reports Eindhovens Dagblad Thursday.
The general opinion among councilors is that the damage caused by fireworks has completely gotten out of hand, the newspaper writes. It would, however, be a small majority. The LPF, PvdA and GroenLinks, among others, are in favor of a ban. VVD and CDA are the biggest opponents.
VVD mayor John Jorritsma is according to the Eindhovens Dagblad for a national ban and wonders whether a local ban can be enforced. Several council members would agree with this view, but “doing nothing” is also not an option, according to the PvdA.
VVD party leader Joost de Jong in Eindhoven is “a bit apprehensive about the trend towards a completely sterile society,” according to the newspaper. He says that his party is not “blind to the damage that fireworks cause”, but also finds that a ban affects many people “who just keep to the rules”.
Local VVD groups in Rotterdam and Amsterdam are out
A majority in the Amsterdam city council also supports a general fireworks ban in the city, after the local VVD announced Wednesday that they would support such a measure. A majority was established in Rotterdam on Tuesday after the local VVD faction supported a ban.
Nationally, the VVD is currently against a ban on consumer fireworks. Discussions on this subject are taking place within the government party, said party leader Klaas Dijkhoff.
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