The members of the European Parliament’s environment committee want the EU to ratify the Minamata Convention, a United Nations treaty which seeks to protect public health and the environment against mercury, a highly toxic heavy metal.
In Brussels, on Tuesday 21 March, they adopted the report by Stefan Eck (GUE/NGL, Germany) on the draft Council decision on the conclusion of the Convention, on behalf of the EU.
This vote comes only a few days after Parliament passed a resolution endorsing the agreement between the Council and the Commission on the European regulation that will transpose the Convention into EU law.
“I am delighted by this swift adoption because we want ratification to take place as quickly as possible. The bulk of the work is done. The Minamata process will allow us to take a very important step in reducing the impact of mercury which we know to be highly toxic”, Eck said after the vote.
The draft resolution supporting ratification will be put to the European Parliament at the April plenary session in Brussels (26-27 April).
The Commission representative stated that the Convention’s coming into effect would reduce mercury pollution across the world. He pointed out that 48% of mercury deposition in the EU comes from outside its borders. He highlighted, however, that the EU and its member states will not have ratified the Convention in time for the next conference of the parties scheduled to take place in Geneva at the end of September 2017.
The Minamata Convention was signed by the EU in September 2013. The draft decision for its conclusion, on behalf of the EU, was submitted by the European Commission in February 2016, at the same time as the draft European regulation that will repeal Regulation 1102/2008 (see EUROPE 11482). (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)