Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-07-04-Speech-1-126"
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"en.20050704.18.1-126"2
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".
Mr President, on behalf of the Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe, I should like to take my turn in thanking Professor Trakatellis for his excellent work and for the quality of the compromise, negotiated with the Luxembourg Presidency, on the ban and restrictions on the six phthalates used as plasticisers in children’s toys and childcare articles, classified into two categories to which I am not going to refer again here.
This directive concerns the daily life of European families and sounds the death knell for these six substances that pose a danger to health and to the environment, since they are reprotoxic and particularly harmful to the immune and hormonal systems. The scientific evidence is accumulating. I am not going to mention all of it here, but all of the signals are turning to red.
It is completely logical that the ministers for trade and industry of the 25, in accordance with the proposal put forward by our former Dutch Liberal colleague, Jan Brinkhorst, in September 2004, wished to withdraw these six phthalates from the market. They did so on the basis of the recommendation of the Scientific Committee on Toxicity, Ecotoxicity and the Environment. They also did so for practical reasons, as they know that a very large number of substitutes exist and are already on the market, such as citrate for instance.
For its part, Parliament wished to strengthen the common position for two main reasons: firstly, because it made better sense since, from now on, with the compromise, no distinction is any longer made between a child over three years of age and one less than three years of age who puts toys in its mouth; and, secondly, because it is our responsibility as elected representatives of the citizens of Europe not only to say no to these phthalates in toys but also – if need be - to gradually regulate or ban all phthalates.
As far as I am concerned, I believe that protecting the health of our fellow citizens deserves better than this fragmented ban. It is difficult for me to explain to the voters that, as we decree it, a dummy plasticised with DEHP is dangerous to newborn babies but that, on the other hand, a needle used for drips that contains the same DEHP is harmless to a premature baby. The danger is strictly the same.
That is why this legislation must be considered as a first application of the precautionary principle to phthalates. The Commission, Mr Verheugen, has to act swiftly in the area of medical arrangements and in the areas of food packaging and floor coverings. That is the sound legislation that the people of Europe are waiting for."@en1
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