On Friday 14 July, the European Commission adopted a proposal to revise the regulation limiting the use of mercury in the EU.
The proposed revision of the regulation on mercury will completely ban, from 1 January 2025, the use of dental amalgam, which currently consumes 40 tonnes of mercury per year in the EU. This applies to manufacturing and export from the EU.
It will also put an end to the manufacture, import and export of certain products still containing mercury, such as lamps, between 2026 and 2028, depending on the type of lamp.
Safe alternatives are now available for all these products, according to the Commission.
The Commission’s proposal was adopted alongside a delegated act aligning the revision of the mercury regulation with the decisions taken by the Fourth Conference of the Parties (COP4) to the Minamata Convention.
The revised mercury regulation will now be submitted to the European Parliament and the EU Council for approval under the ordinary legislative procedure. The delegated act has been sent to the European Parliament and the EU Council for review.
See the proposal for a regulation: https://aeur.eu/f/82s (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)