WECF welcomes European Parliament veto to flawed and unlawful EDC criteria
European Parliament rejected the flawed criteria proposed by the European Commission on the definition of Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs)
04.10.2017 |
The European Parliament showed a red card to the European Commission for proposing flawed identification criteria for endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs).
EDC-Free Europe campaigners welcome European Parliament veto to flawed and unlawful criteria. Lobbying from NGO's and experts (over 70 partners of EDC-Free Europe coalition, including WECF, http://www.edc-free-europe.org/ ) has been very intense!
It was a close call, the necessary majority of 376 votes was just achieved (389 in favour, 235 against (most PPE) and 70 abstentions). So European Commission has to get back to work and integrate the concerns expressed by the EP.
In a historic moment, a majority of Members of European Parliament (MEPs) voted against the Commission’s proposal, by supporting a motion for objection that was adopted by the European Parliament’s environment committee earlier last week.
Just prior to the vote, signatures from over 315.000 Europeans urging MEPs to reject the Commission’s proposal and to stand up for health were handed over in a massive online action by EDC-Free Europe campaign partners and SumofUs.
MEPs found that the Commission exceeded its given mandate that tasked it to propose science-based criteria, by introducing a problematic exemption for certain endocrine disrupting pesticides that was not based on science and by doing so outside of the ordinary legislative procedure.
The EDC-Free Europe coalition repeatedly warned that the proposed criteria were not sufficient to protect human health and the environment, not grounded in science, and unlawful. We now call on the European Commission to come up with a new proposal that lives up to citizens’ expectations.
The European Commission was under a legal obligation to present such criteria on account of Article 5 (3) of the Biocidal Products Regulation (528/2012), and Article 80 (7) of the Pesticides Regulation (1107/2009). However, the text proposed by the European Commission – which was long overdue – is regarded by the majority of scientific experts (including the Endocrine Society) and most civil society organisations as totally inadequate.
The proposed criteria were not fit for purpose and would fail to identify EDCs that are currently causing harm. As they stand, the criteria will neither provide an adequate level of protection for the environment or for human health. WECF welcomes the European Parliament’s resolution.
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