The European Parliament has rejected the European Commission’s proposed criteria for identifying endocrine-disrupting chemicals. These criteria, in their current form, would not sufficiently protect our health. The European Commission will therefore have to go back to the drawing board. Wemos applauds the Parliament’s decision, as this is another step closer towards protecting our health and environment.
In our letter to European Members of Parliament (MEPs) last week, we urged them to reject the proposed criteria, which we found to be flawed and unfit for purpose. Flaws included the unrealistically high proposed burden of proof for identifying the substances, and the exemption of certain pesticides and biocides intended to disrupt the hormone system. The criteria would therefore harm public health. In our joint letter to MEPs – together with the organizations Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL) and Women Engage for a Common Future (WECF International) – we pressed for robust criteria.
New opportunity
With the rejection of the criteria, the European Commission now gets another opportunity to put health first in a new proposal. Wemos will continue pressing for robust criteria for identifying endocrine-disrupting chemicals. Wemos’ global health advocate Annelies den Boer: ‘This has shown that the European Parliament takes science and the health of European citizens seriously. Wemos applauds this, because in order to protect the health of Dutch citizens, we will need better criteria.’
What are endocrine-disrupting chemicals? Why do we want robust criteria? Read our factsheet (Dutch).
