On Wednesday 15 April, the members of the European Parliament’s Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL) were finally able to approve the mandate for negotiations with the Council of the EU on the sixth revision of the directive on carcinogenic, mutagenic and reprotoxic substances (CMRD), even though the EMPL committee secretariat had decided that the required majority had not been reached by one vote, with 30 votes in favour, 8 against and 16 abstentions (see EUROPE 13849/22).
The European Parliament’s Rules of Procedure require a majority of committee members (i.e. 31 of the 60 EMPL members) for a decision to open such negotiations. However, elected members were informed on Thursday 16 April that the majority of EMPL group members had to be calculated on the basis of the members actually appointed, of whom there are currently 59, with one group having a vacant seat.
The April plenary session will therefore be able to make a simple announcement of the mandate at the opening, and a first trilogue could be held on 7 May.
According to the results of the vote, the S&D group abstained on the negotiating mandate on Wednesday 15 April. According to sources, this reflects its dissatisfaction with the negotiations, particularly with the EPP, on both the cobalt exposure rate and the timescales for reducing exposure to PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons). Amendments from the EPP and ECR, extending the deadlines for reducing this exposure, were finally put to the vote, contrary to what had been tacitly agreed, sources explain.
The S&D group had announced that it would abstain if these amendments, deemed harmful to health, were approved.
Link to voting results: https://aeur.eu/f/lkk (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)