Members of the European Parliament’s Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection are calling for better consumer protection from asbestos, especially in the property sector, in an opinion by Anne-Sophie Pelletier (The Left, France) that was unanimously adopted on Wednesday, 1 September.
MEPs are requesting that the European Commission present a legislative proposal introducing mandatory screening for the presence of asbestos in buildings constructed before 2005, or the year when the national ban on asbestos was introduced, before the property is sold or rented out.
Explaining that she had been inspired by existing measures in France and Italy, the rapporteur told EUROPE, “We have often looked at asbestos through the prism of workers, but not so much consumers, even though they are just as exposed, especially in buildings”. The MEP explained that a certificate proving an asbestos screening could thus be handed over for each sale or rental. This document would be renewable every five years.
The Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety had adopted its draft opinion, presented by Manuel Bompard (The Left, France), in mid-July. Here, MEPs were interested in the need to monitor the presence of asbestos in the environment, air, water, and living spaces. They are calling for the potential health effects of ingesting asbestos fibres present in drinking water to be monitored more closely. The opinion mentions a major renovation and asbestos removal plan for the European drinking water distribution network with the support of the NextGenerationEU recovery plan.
The Committee on Employment and Social Affairs is expected to vote on the legislative own-initiative report brought by Nikolaj Villumsen (The Left, Denmark) at the end of September.
This rapporteur also suggests tackling the issue of buildings; he calls for a comprehensive European Strategy for the Removal of All Asbestos (ESRAA) to be developed, notably in the context of the Building Renovation Wave initiated by the European Green Deal. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)