Malta MEPs defend fireworks after blast that killed animals, injured farmers

Alex Agius Saliba and Peter Agius have defended pyrotechnics as part of Malta's identity and culture after they were copied into an email urging EU intervention in the manufacturing and operation of fireworks facilities in Malta.

Their comments also follow a call for a ban on fireworks in Malta by MEP and parliament vice president Nicolae Ștefănuță.

On Monday morning, a powerful fireworks factory explosion rocked Salina, sending a thick plume of smoke into the air. The blast at the Lourdes Fireworks Factory on Triq il-Qadi damaged many properties in the area, and injured two farmers.

The blast, heard from across Malta at 6.30am, registered a magnitude of 1.9 on the Richter scale, according to earthquake monitoring sites. 

It killed at least four cows on nearby farms and several birds at Bird Park Malta, and debris injured two racehorses. 

On Thursday, Alex Agius Saliba warned Facebook followers about "pressure from a number of European activists" on the EU to stop the production and setting off of fireworks in Malta.

He said he replied to an email sent by a "foreign activist to mind her business" as the matter was not one of EU competence. 

The email was sent by Marta Wojciechowska, but it is unclear in which capacity. Agius Saliba told Times of Malta he believes it is "a European Greens initiative".

In her email, Wojciechowska asks for EU-level intervention about the operation of fireworks manufacturing facilities in Malta. The repeated explosions demonstrated a "persistent and unacceptable risk to human life, public safety, property and the environment", she said.

She noted that Monday's explosion proves there is high-risk handling of explosive material in facilities located close to populated and environmentally sensitive areas. 

Wojciechowska called for an urgent examination of the safety and environmental risks of firework manufacturing and an assessment of whether current regulations were adequate to protect human life and the environment.

She also urged the European Parliament to consider requiring Malta to prohibit fireworks manufacturing and large-scale storage facilities if safety could not be guaranteed.

Additionally, she asked for an evaluation of whether the operation of such facilities was compatible with EU objectives on public safety, environmental protection and animal welfare. 

In his reply to Wojciechowska, PL MEP Agius Saliba said "pyrotechnics is an integral part of Malta's cultural heritage", and as an MEP, he will "always do whatever I can to protect Malta's identity".

Agius Saliba explained that the production of fireworks was regulated by Maltese law, and "we thank god that accidents of this sort are a rarity, not the norm".

Meanwhile, Peter Agius reacted to "fireworks enthusiasts' worry" over Ștefănuță's comments, saying he had written to the MEP to explain better the central role of pyrotechnics in Maltese culture.

In his letter to Ștefănuță, Agius says that while he appreciated his concern, fireworks were central to Malta's religious feasts and integral to the island's cultural identity. 

The PN MEP explains that the local Explosive Ordinance and legal framework "strictly regulates the sale, manufacture, storage, transportation, let-off, health and safety standards requisites, as well as the knowledge, responsibility, and experience that a licenses pyrothecnical must possess" and that a magisterial inquiry into the blast should shed light on what caused the explosion.

Rather than suggesting a ban, he says, "we need to better understand where the rules have failed to secure the safety which we all expect".