10/04/2013 (Agence Europe) - Agreement on rules relating to worker exposure to electromagnetic fields. The Council and the European Parliament have successfully concluded their negotiations on a new directive on minimum health and safety requirements regarding the exposure of workers to the risks arising from electromagnetic fields (EUROPE will come back to this). Member states' permanent representatives approved the compromise reached on Wednesday 10 April, thus paving the way for adoption of the new directive at first reading. In order to enter into force, the text still needs to be formally approved by Parliament, which is to vote in June, and by the Council, which is due to take its decision shortly after the vote in Parliament. The agreed text reviews exposure limitations on the basis of new scientific evidence and provides for derogations, in particular for medical applications using magnetic resonance imaging. (LC/transl.jl)