In an article published on January 12, 2016 the non-profit organization International Chemical Secretariat (ChemSec) informs about Sweden’s discontent with the European Commission’s (EC) statement on the EU court ruling regarding the delay in setting criteria for identifying endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs). In December 2015, the General Court of the European Union decided that the EC has breached EU law by failing to define EDC criteria as required by the Biocidal Products Regulation (BPR, (EU) No 528/2012) (FPF reported). In July 2014, Sweden had sued the EC for missing the deadline specified in the BPR and thus delaying the setting of EDC criteria (FPF reported).
In a letter to the EC, the Swedish Minister for Climate and Environment, Åsa Romson, now expressed her disappointment with the EC’s statement that it will continue with the impact assessment on the different options for EDC criteria and that it did not provide a clear date or time window for the definitive decision making. Romson stressed that the EU court concluded that “criteria for the determination of endocrine disrupting properties shall be based on science relating to the endocrine system only and not on economic considerations” and that she expects the EC to “take the measures necessary to comply with the treaties and to meet the legitimate expectation of citizens that the EU will protect human health and the environment against the threat of endocrine disruptors.”
In another letter to EC president Jean-Claude Juncker, non-profit organizations CHEM Trust, European Environmental Bureau (EEB), Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL), and Pesticide Action Network Europe (PAN Europe) express their astonishment at the EC’s statement on the court ruling saying it ”implies that the Commission has no intention of complying with the law.” They urge for 1) immediate adoption of the scientific criteria according to the EC’s draft recommendation of June 2013 and 2) a review of the EC’s use of impact assessments and the extent to which this is causing delays in regulatory action, as well as a revision of the EC’s ‘Better Regulation’ agenda.
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ChemSec (January 12, 2016). “Sweden targets the Commission with new criticism regarding EDCs.”
