Policy revision in the home stretch.

On 17 February, the preliminary trialogue agreement on the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 2004/37/EC on the protection of workers from the risks related to exposure to carcinogens or mutagens was voted in the European Parliament with an overwhelming majority. For the negotiated trialogue agreement, 686 MEPs voted in favour, 4 against and 4 abstained.

European Commission announces further measures

In the preceding debate, Nicolas Schmit, Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights, also spoke in Strasbourg. 52% of all occupational deaths are due to carcinogens. This must be prevented. Schmit announced that there will be a 5th revision of Directive 2004/37/EC on the protection of workers from the risks related to exposure to carcinogens or mutagens, which will include more reprotoxic substances. Further protection by medical products should also be ensured for workers in the medical field. He announced that new occupational health and safety guidelines will be published end of 2022, with increased training and the introduction of a methodology for measuring limits.

Rare unity among political parties

In the debate, all the parliamentary groups declared their support for stronger occupational health and safety for workers. This is undisputed in Europe. The trialogue result was supported across the political groups, thus confirming the really very good voting result of the MEPs. Thus, it became visible how important the topic is.

A good way forward from a German perspective

Germany is very satisfied with the result. Since Germany has a very strong industry, the demands on occupational safety are also correspondingly high. One sticking point in the negotiations was the determination of hazardous substances. The European Parliament alone wanted to designate new reprotoxic substances, but the European Council resisted. Since the Member States are responsible for occupational health and safety, only the occupational safety experts know better which substances should be included.

Last stage are the Member States

Since the policy change is at the top of the agenda, it still needs to be formally voted in the European Council, the dossier can be unanimously approved in any form of the European Council. However, it could also be voted on in the EPSCO Council on 14 March 2022.

The final text amending Directive 2004/37/EC on the protection of workers from the risks related to exposure to carcinogens or mutagens at work can be found here. Here, you can find information about the procedure for the vote in the European Parliament, the approval of the European Commission text, the European Commission’s declaration and the Declaration of the European Parliament and the European Council.