Spark is pleased to announce the publication of the ‘Feasibility study on reducing the security risks posed by the criminal misuse of pyrotechnics’ it has compiled together with its partners for DG HOME.
As local and transnational terrorism and organised crime continue to be major security threats in the European Union, pyrotechnic articles risk being increasingly used for criminal activities, calling for a new assessment of the security threats associated with such articles.
The Pyrotechnics Directive 2013/29/EU regulates the movement of pyrotechnic articles within the single market, aiming at eliminating barriers to trade while ensuring a high level of protection of human health and safety, as well as of consumers and professional end-users. In the last two decades, however, the use of pyrotechnics articles to build improvised explosives devices (IEDs) has increased, also due to the restrictions on the availability of explosive precursors introduced by Regulation (EU) 2019/1148.
Spark, in consortium with Ecorys, TNO, and Fondazione SAFE, has supported the European Commission (DG HOME) in assessing the feasibility of the potential options to tackle the growing security problems posed by the criminal misuse of pyrotechnic articles. We explored the illegal manufacturing of pyrotechnic articles, their diversion from legal supply chains, and the security risks associated with their misuse. Particular attention was given to key areas, including the harmonisation of national laws and practices in the EU, the role of online sales and the challenges that they pose for law enforcement authorities.
The full Study is available here.