Environment Council: "Combinations of endocrine disruptors must be dealt with in existing EU legislation"

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Environment Council: "Combinations of endocrine disruptors must be dealt with in existing EU legislation"

At the Environment Council in Brussels on 22 December, the ministers are expected to signal to the Commission that EU legislation needs to be adapted to take account of the combination effects of chemicals. The ministers will also discuss the outcome of the climate change conference, which has just concluded in Copenhagen, and adopt conclusions on biodiversity beyond 2010. Chair of the Environment Council is Sweden’s Minister for the Environment Andreas Carlgren.

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Commission urged to consider combination effects of chemicals
The ministers are expected to adopt conclusions on combination effects of chemicals. This concerns chemicals which, in combination with other chemicals, can be harmful to public health. Risk assessments that state the risk for individual chemicals are not sufficient to assess the combination effects, which is why the Council wants to signal to the Commission that EU legislation needs to be adapted to take account of chemicals’ combination effects.

The proposed conclusions give the Commission the task of recommending, during 2010, how exposure to combinations of endocrine disruptors should be dealt with in existing legislation. In the conclusions, the Commission will also be given the task of evaluating, during 2011, to what extent existing legislation is sufficient for managing risks resulting from exposure, and of considering suitable alternatives.

How did it go in Copenhagen?
The ministers will begin by discussing the outcome of the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen on 7–18 December. At the conference, decisions were made on how the international work on climate change should be carried out and regulated after 2012.

Vision for biodiversity beyond 2010
The Council is expected to adopt conclusions on biodiversity beyond 2010. The idea of the conclusions is that they should build on and contribute to the ongoing work to update the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). The CBD is a global agreement on conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity. Over the period 2009–2010, a follow-up of the convention’s goal to halt losses of biodiversity by 2010 is being carried out. A meeting of the Conference of the Parties for the Convention on Biological Diversity in October 2010 will evaluate the convention’s goals.

In this context, the Council decided in March 2009 that a new EU objective on biodiversity would be adopted during spring 2010. The conclusions that the ministers will adopt on 22 December establish the framework for the EU objective and also emphasise the global perspective for the EU objective.

Ministers to agree on management of marine environment
In addition, the Council will try to agree on conclusions on regional management of water and the marine environment, including the implementation of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region. The conclusions stress the importance of consideration for marine ecosystems and protection of marine environments. They also underline the need to strengthen regional efforts in the implementation of EU maritime policy and the directive on a strategy for the marine environment. The importance of cooperation between countries that share marine waters is also highlighted. Particular attention is paid to the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region and the serious environmental situation in the Baltic.

The aim of the conclusions is to draw attention to the marine environment issues in the Baltic Sea area and other maritime regions, and to push forward the implementation of the directive on a strategy for the marine environment, which entered into effect in July 2008.

Debate on biocides
Finally, the ministers will hold a policy debate on a proposal for a revised regulation on biocides. Biocides are chemicals, biological preparations or active ingredients that are intended to destroy or control harmful organisms. Examples of biocides are antibiotics, pesticides, disinfectants and preservatives. The idea behind the policy debate is to provide political guidance on a number of central negotiating issues.

Published

17 December

11:00

Updated

21 December

15:20

Council

Environment

Location

Brussels, Belgium

Contacts

Lennart Bodén
Press Secretary to the Minister for the Environment Andreas Carlgren

+46 8 405 10 00
Elisabet Dahlén Jonsson
Press Officer at the Permanent Representation of Sweden to the European Union