Brussels, 17/05/2016 (Agence Europe) - MEPs' patience would seem to have been exhausted. European Parliament President Martin Schulz said in the evening of 12 May that a motion of censure had been submitted to him condemning the inaction of the Commission on endocrine disruptors. The motion is likely to be put to the vote during the June plenary session.
Endocrine disruptors are chemical substances which interfere with the hormonal system, causing possible harm to health and the environment. The regulations in force on biocidal and plant health products (Regulations EU 528/2012 and EC 1107/2009 respectively) state that by no later than 13 December 2013 (see EUROPE 11455), the Commission shall adopt delegated acts specifying “scientific criteria for the determination of endocrine-disrupting properties”. To date, the Commission has not published anything, despite a judgment delivered by the General Court of the EU on 16 December 2015 finding it guilty of failing to meet its obligations. In the face of repeated calls, the Commission says that it is currently conducting an impact assessment of the costs and socio-economic benefits of the various possible options for these criteria and that it will publish its decision before summer. It is believed to have recently sought the opinion of the advisory monitoring board.
For some MEPs, enough is enough. Vice-President Ryszard Czarnecki said that the motion of censure received by the Parliament's president calls for the resignation the College of Commissioners. The document was submitted by Piernicola Pedicini (EFDD, Italy) and signed by the EFDD, GUE and ENF Groups and by non-attached MEPs. Under the terms of Article 119 of the European Parliament rules of procedure, a motion of censure must be supported by at least one tenth of the members of the Parliament for it to be submitted and by a two thirds majority of votes cast and a majority of MEPs to be successful.
The debate is scheduled for the mini session on 25-26 May. Voting is expected to take place in June (as Parliament rules stipulate a minimum of 48 hours between the debate and the vote). According to an observer, the motion has little chance of garnering the support necessary. It does, however, have the merit of putting the pressure back on the European Commission. (Original version in French by Sophie Petitjean)