The European Parliament has adopted a resolution on the EU chemicals strategy for sustainability last Friday, effectively laying out a detailed agenda for the European Commission to put the protection of our health and the environment first in future legislation on chemicals [1].

As a key element of this resolution, MEPs are demanding the EU Commission to finally upgrade its legislative framework on endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) without delay and to strengthen the implementation of existing legislation.  

The EDC-Free Europe coalition have applauded the European Parliament's initiative to prepare and adopt the resolution, which addresses our demands for an EDC-Free future, just one year after adopting its resolution on endocrine disrupting chemicals [2].

Sandra Jen, EDC-Free Europe campaign coordinator, said: “This resolution echoes the strong expectations to see effective and rapid improvements to ensure a high level of protection against endocrine disrupting chemicals in Europe and elsewhere. Our exposure to hazardous chemicals, like EDCs, needs to be drastically prevented and limited now.”

The EU chemicals strategy for sustainability is currently under development and is expected to be released in the second half of 2020. The European Commission is also in the process of completing a fitness check to screen whether EU legislation on endocrine disrupting chemicals is delivering on its objective to protect human health and the environment, the results of which are expected for the autumn [3].