On May 12, 2016 the European Parliament (EP) announced that its President received a motion of censure on the European Commission (EC), signed by the necessary number of Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) and stating that the EC has failed to comply with its legal obligation to publish scientific criteria for defining endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs). In December 2015, the General Court of the European Union ruled that the EC has breached EU law by failing to define EDC criteria by December 2013 as required by the Biocidal Products Regulation (BPR, (EU) No 528/2012) (FPF reported). MEPs have repeatedly urged the EC to act on EDCs (FPF reported). According to an article by regulatory news provider Chemical Watch, the EP will debate the motion during the next part-session on May 25, 2016. The vote is expected to take place during the EP’s session on June 6-9, 2016 in Strasbourg, France. The motion was drafted by MEP Piernicola Pedicini who reasoned that “the Commission cannot pretend to ignore first a Regulation and then a Judgement of the Court of Justice. The Commission cannot invoke any further excuse in delaying the adoption of the scientific criteria.” The Chemical Watch article further explains that if the EP votes in favor of the motion of censure, the EC must resign according to Article 234 of the EU Treaty.
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EP (May 12, 2016). “Endocrine disruptors : Motion of censure on the Commission announced in plenary.”
Luke Buxton (May 16, 2016). “Commission faces motion of censure on EDCs legal obligation.” Chemical Watch
