Pyrotechnic articles: fireworks of categories F1, F2 and F3 without a harmonised standard — the Commission withdrew EN 15947:2015 (parts 1–5) and did not publish EN 15947:2022, as it does not meet the request; 16 standards remain listed (vehicle, theatrical, F4 pyrotechnics), terminology parts dropped
Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2025/337, published on 24 February 2025 and in force from the day of publication, establishes a new complete list of harmonised standards for Directive 2013/29/EU on pyrotechnic articles and repeals Communication 2017/C 149/01. References from the former list given in Annex II — including the whole EN 15947:2015 series for F1–F3 fireworks — remained applicable only until 24 March 2025.
- Why fireworks have no standard: CEN revised the EN 15947 series still under the expired request M/416 and on 5 October 2022 adopted EN 15947:2022, parts 1–5, which replaced the 2015 edition; it submitted parts 2–5 for publication. By letter of 21 November 2023 the Commission refused to publish them because they do not meet the requirements of the request in Decision C(2022) 3011. Since CEN regards the 2022 edition as the successor and the 2015 edition can no longer be considered state of the art — with CEN having confirmed its inability to develop new standards in the near future — the references to EN 15947:2015 were withdrawn.
- What remains (Annex I, 16 standards): EN ISO 14451-2 to -10:2013 — pyrotechnic articles for vehicles: test methods, labelling, micro gas generators, airbag gas generators, airbag modules, seatbelt pretensioners, igniters, pretensioning mechanisms and subassemblies; EN 16256-2 to -5:2012 — theatrical pyrotechnic articles (categories, construction and performance, labelling, test methods); EN 16261-2:2013 and EN 16261-3 and -4:2012 — category 4 fireworks (requirements, test methods, labelling). The terminology parts EN ISO 14451-1, EN 15947-1, EN 16256-1 and EN 16261-1 were dropped, because definitions do not give a presumption of conformity with any essential requirement.
- What the rejected EN 15947-5:2022 covered according to the EVS record: requirements for construction and performance of fireworks and of primary packs and selection packs of categories F1, F2 and F3; it does not apply to fireworks containing detonative explosives other than black powder or flash composition, nor to compositions containing, among others, arsenic, hexachlorobenzene, lead, mercury, white phosphorus, picric acid, nitrocellulose with a nitrogen mass fraction above 12.6 %, potassium chlorate with bromates above 0.15 %, sulphur with an acidity (as H₂SO₄) above 0.002 % and zirconium with particles below 40 µm. Test methods are part 4 of the series.
- Background: request M/416 of 14 August 2007 (Directive 2007/23/EC) expired on 13 June 2022, and the standards developed under it were published in Communication 2017/C 149/01. The decision also recalls the Court of Justice judgment of 5 March 2024 in case C-588/21 P (Public.Resource.Org and Right to Know v Commission), which found an overriding public interest justifying the disclosure of harmonised standards on request for access to documents.