Brussels, 11/01/2006 (Agence Europe) - The European Parliament has decided to take legal action against the European Commission's decision to lift the ban of the brominated flame retardant Deca-BDE in electrical and electronic equipment.
Proceedings for annulment of the decision were initiated last week, an action welcomed by the Greens/EFA Parliamentary group. In a press release, Swedish Green Carl Schlyter stated, “I am glad to see that the European Parliament will not tolerate that the Commission abuses its powers to lift the ban of a highly problematic substance that Parliament and Council adopted three years ago. Parliament as co-legislator could close down if the Commission were allowed to completely overturn decisions by the legislator via backdoor procedures. I call on manufacturers of electrical and electronic equipment to play safe and to stop using Deca-BDE”. According to Carl Schlyter, the case for banning this substance is stringer than ever because, since 2003, Deca-BDE has been found in predators in the Arctic and in human breast milk. The MEP added, “Tests have found it to be neurotoxic, and to degrade to even more toxic and bioaccumulative substances - all commercial uses of which have already been banned. The Commission's own scientific committee strongly recommended risk reduction measures, and the UK is in the process of reviewing the latest adverse findings. Any responsible manufacturer should follow the example of Dell, Sony and other companies and stop using Deca-BDE in electrical and electronic devices now, rather than wait for the outcome of the legal proceedings”.
The decision to ban Deca-BDE was adopted by Parliament and Council in January 2003 in Directive 2002/95/EC on the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment, and would have been effective as of 1st July 2006. However, this ban was lifted by the European Commission via comitology procedures which exclude the European Parliament. On 30 November 2005, the Parliament's Legal Affairs Committee, on the request of the Environment Committee, unanimously recommended the initiation of annulment proceedings at the European Court of Justice.