Brussels, 04/03/2016 (Agence Europe) - It is time that the European Commission met its legal obligations and finally presents as soon as possible scientific criteria to define endocrine disruptors, explained European environment ministers in Brussels on Friday 4 March.
This was indicated in a unanimous statement adopted by the Health Council following a ruling by the European General Court on 16 December 2015 in case T-521/14, in which the Commission was found guilty of failing to draw up criteria to meet the December 2013 deadline, as required by Regulation 538/3012 on biocides. Pointing out that under Article 266 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU, the Commission “is now required to take the necessary measures to comply with the judgment of the General Court. The Council therefore calls on the Commission to respect its legal obligations, as required by the Treaty and the judgment of the General Court.” The court's ruling was given following an appeal for failure to comply with its duties and was backed by a number of other member states. It is now the member states as a whole which are putting pressure on the Commission.
Quizzed by the press about her interview with Health and Food Safety Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis on Thursday 2 March, French ecology and sustainable development minister Ségolène Royal said on Friday that public health criteria and bans on damaging products must be extremely clear and she wanted the WHO's definition to be saved.
France and the Netherlands will vote against renewal of the authorisation for glyphosate. In terms of the plan to renew authorisation for a further fifteen years for the glyphosate pesticide, which the European Commission will submit to the vote of member states' experts on Monday 7 March, Royal, asked about France's position, said it was important of the Commission to align itself with the position that provides the greatest protection for the environment and health, in other words the opinion of the WHO rather than EFSA. France will say 'no' to renewal of the authorisation, she said. The Netherlands will also say no. We learned from government sources that Italy is planning to call for the vote to be postponed.
The European Commission is highly criticised in this domain for proposing a renewal although it is the body responsible for risk management, but it refuses to back down. Commission spokesperson Margaritis Schinas told the press that the Commission cannot be seen as master of the comitology procedure and will wait to see what the member states' experts have to say. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)