19/05/2017 (Agence Europe) – On Thursday 18 May, the European Union deposited it ratification instrument for the Minamata Convention on Mercury – a United Nations agreement that aims to protect public health and the environment from this particularly toxic heavy metal (see EUROPE 11786). "With ratification, the EU has delivered the decisive bit and triggered [the convention's] entry into force", European Commissioner for the Environment, Fisheries and Maritime Affairs Karmenu Vella stated in a press release. The EU member states now need to complete their national ratification procedures. This process will not have finished before the next conference of the parties in Geneva, Switzerland, on 24-29 September. (AN)