Tag: Precautionary Principle

Successive man-made disasters have seen the EU adopt rules to enforce the 'polluter pays principle' on companies responsible for major environmental damage. 

European policymakers face a difficult choice when authorising new technologies such as GMOs, as they often find themselves caught between conflicting expert safety advice and calls to respect the precautionary principle when scientific evidence is insufficient.

Recent debates on issues such as GMOs and the review of the European chemicals policy have sparked heated discussions among stakeholders about the analysis and assessment of the underlying risks and the way in which these can be managed and communicated. Questions about the definition of risk, the objectivity of scientific information and the role that risk analysis should play in policy decisions are at the heart of the debates.

Position papers from the German and UK governments have seriously attacked the proposed review of the EU chemicals policy. The proposal is said to be too far reaching and too costly for industry.

The European Parliament adopted on 15 November the Schörling report on the Commission's White Paper on future EU chemicals policy. The chemicals industry succeeded to convince the MEPs not to follow some of the toughest demands put forward by the Environment Committee on 16 October.

The European Parliament's Environment Committee wants to see a stricter chemicals policy than the one proposed by the Commission in its White Paper. In a vote on the report by MEP Inger Schörling (Greens, Sweden) on 16 October, the committee took a tough stance on the EU's reform of its chemicals policy.

In reaction to Commission's White Paper, NGOs as well as industry criticise new EU chemicals strategy

Commission to propose a single regulatory system for chemical substances