Thursday

28th Mar 2024

EU states reject stricter chemical rules in waste, says lead MEP

  • There is a lack of data regarding chemical contamination, despite the general obligation for member states to do proper monitoring (Photo: Henrique Pinto)
Listen to article

EU member states have rejected MEPs' call for stricter limits for one of the most harmful chemicals in waste, during inter-institutional talks.

"We know we had a problem [with chemical pollution]…but there was no political will to be more ambitious," Slovak liberal MEP Martin Hojsík, one of the lead negotiators on the file, told EUobserver.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Get the EU news that really matters

Instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

EU countries and MEPs reached a deal late on Monday (20 June) on the proposal that sets limits for harmful chemicals in waste — in a bid to prevent them from being recycled into new materials as part of 'circular economy' efforts.

This includes specific limits for one type of the so-called 'forever chemicals', known as PFOA.

Forever chemicals [technically known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)], earned this nickname because they are considered nearly indestructible — becoming a headache for policymakers after public health and environmental concerns were raised.

Hojsík said EU member states were "not flexible at all" when setting PFOA limits during the negotiations, as they argued that there is not enough contamination data to justify stricter limits.

"The situation with PFOA chemicals contamination is higher on the agenda in countries like Belgium or the Netherlands, while in central and eastern Europe nobody knows [about it]," he told EUobserver.

Hojsík said that already the commission impact assessment revealed that there is a general lack of data about the contamination of these chemicals, despite the general obligation for member states to do proper monitoring.

In Belgium, for example, high levels of one of these forever chemicals (PFOS) have been found in the soil and water close to a 3M factory near Antwerp and Zwijndrech.

PFOA are found in waterproof textiles, fire-fighting foams, stain-resistant carpets, or paper and cardboard packaging.

But the EU has pledged to eliminate its production and use under the Stockholm Convention — and has restricted its use in the EU under the so-called Reach (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals) regulation.

The maximum limit value for PFOA to be considered hazardous in waste was agreed at one mg/kg and at 40 mg/kg for PFOA-related compounds.

"We are delivering on our promise to eradicate the most harmful chemicals from our daily lives," EU commissioner for environment Virginijus Sinkevičius said in a statement.

He said that "ambitious limits" for these toxic substances are needed to safely use "toxic-free secondary materials" in Europe's circular economy.

The chemical PFHxS — with similar uses of PFOA —, the pesticide dicofol, and the chemical pentachlorophenol which can be found in treated wood and textiles were also added to the EU regulation of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs).

'Swiftly dial back' interest rates, ECB told

Italian central banker Piero Cipollone in his first monetary policy speech since joining the ECB's board in November, said that the bank should be ready to "swiftly dial back our restrictive monetary policy stance."

Opinion

EU Modernisation Fund: an open door for fossil gas in Romania

Among the largest sources of financing for energy transition of central and eastern European countries, the €60bn Modernisation Fund remains far from the public eye. And perhaps that's one reason it is often used for financing fossil gas projects.

Latest News

  1. German bank freezes account of Jewish peace group
  2. EU Modernisation Fund: an open door for fossil gas in Romania
  3. 'Swiftly dial back' interest rates, ECB told
  4. Moscow's terror attack, security and Gaza
  5. Why UK-EU defence and security deal may be difficult
  6. EU unveils plan to create a European cross-border degree
  7. How migrants risk becoming drug addicts along Balkan route
  8. 2024: A Space Odyssey — why the galaxy needs regulating

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersJoin the Nordic Food Systems Takeover at COP28
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersHow women and men are affected differently by climate policy
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersArtist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCOP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
  5. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  6. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?

Join EUobserver

EU news that matters

Join us