Luxembourg, 04/10/2012 (Agence Europe) - The Employment and Social Policy Council (EPSCO) managed to reach, in Luxembourg on Thursday 4 October, a general approach on the proposal for an EU directive on the exposure of workers to the risks arising from electromagnetic fields. This breakthrough was welcomed by Laszlo Andor, European Commissioner for Social Affairs and Inclusion. When addressing the press, he described the text as a “balanced compromise”.
That compromise, however, has not met with everyone's satisfaction, as Germany maintained its opposition to the text. The point of contention lies in the technical annex to the draft directive which stipulates the possibility of resorting to a single method for assessing electromagnetic fields. Sotiroula Charalambous, of Cyprus, who chaired the Council debates, explained that the compromise was the result of a very long process of political discussion and scientific analyses. She then called on member states not to cast doubt on this highly fragile balance.
The argument that this is the best possible scientific choice did not please Germany, whose chemical and steel industries today use a number of different methods, methods that are just as reliable as the so-called “weighted peak” method and which do not put the health of workers any more in danger, the German delegation said. The United Kingdom did not support the general approach either. Although it shares the concerns expressed by Germany, it is because of a parliamentary right of reserve that it was not able to support the compromise. (JK/transl.jl)