Malta’s Government in the Legislative Decision-Making Processes of Two Directives on the Placing on the Market of Pyrotechnic Articles: Case Studies 1 and 2

Abstract

It is appropriate to start this chapter by asking why pyrotechnic articles (the words ‘pyrotechnic articles’ and ‘fireworks’ are used interchangeably throughout this chapter) and their production are such an eminent matter for some countries in the EU, particularly for Malta. It is because fireworks in Malta are not only important in economic terms but also have socio-cultural, traditional, and religious connotations. These connotations find their origin in a centuries-old legacy brought about by the Order of the Knights of St. John, in the period when Malta was administered by the Order between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries. Indeed, this cultural heritage has lived through history and pyrotechnics are still very popular in Malta. Today, they are widely used in religious and cultural village feasts mainly during the summer period. This means that they enjoy considerable popularity across the entire national socio-political stratum and, hence, the Maltese community, in general. This aspect must be kept in mind to understand the Maltese government’s position in the EU legislative negotiations presented in this chapter. This chapter focuses on two legislative cases concerning the placing on the EU market of pyrotechnic articles. The first case examines the decision-making process which led to the adoption of EC Directive 2007/23/EC on 23 May 2007 (Case 1), while the other examines the legislative process leading to the adoption of EU Directive 2013/29/EU (recast) on 12 June 2013 (Case 2). The aim of this chapter is to focus on the Maltese government’s capacities and strategies adopted to exert influence in these legislative processes. Case 1 is treated in Sect. 7.2. Sub-section 7.2.1 sets the background to this EU decision-making process, highlighting that this was the first time that the EU adopted legislation to harmonize and regulate the pyrotechnic industries of its member states. Sub-section 7.2.2 focuses on the Maltese government’s position in this legislative sphere and offers a background to its preferences requiring an ‘uploading’ into the EU’s process. The strategies used by the government to do this are analysed in sub-section 7.2.3 which deals with the decision-shaping stage of these EU legislative negotiations in the Council and the EP. Finally, sub-section 7.2.4 focuses on the decision-taking stage of the negotiations. Case 2 is presented in Sect. 7.3. The sub-sections found in this section follow precisely the same structure for Sect. 7.2. Finally, Sect. 7.4 provides an overall assessment of whether Malta’s government was successful in these EU legislative decision-making processes. It thus offers an initial cross-analysis of the main factors highlighted in the legislative cases, something which is further elaborated upon in Chap. 9. One last point worth mentioning here is about the overall focus of this chapter. The chapter focuses mainly on the EU negotiations leading to the 2007 Directive (Case 1), since they represented the first opportunity for Malta’s government, after attaining EU membership in 2004, to intervene directly in this legislative sphere. However, of equal importance, there was also a real need to ensure that this book includes a study on the most recent EU decision-making process in this EU legislative sphere on the placing on the market of pyrotechnic articles. Therefore, there was a need to focus also on Council and EP negotiations leading to the EU legislation currently in force, i.e., Case 2 on the Directive 2013/29/EU of 12 June 2013 which superseded EC Directive 2007/23/EC.