Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-07-04-Speech-1-132"

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"Mr President, I should like to start by thanking Mr Trakatellis for his excellent work, and for his tenacity in pursuing this matter and achieving suitable compromises. Our absolute priority should be to protect the health and safety of children. This holds particularly true in cases where we have a direct influence on the issues that are at the root of a problem, and where we are in a position to take decisions and impose legal restrictions that minimise the suffering of our youngest citizens and the incidence of disease in this group. A policy of this kind would be proof of the EU’s good intentions, as well as being easy for the public to understand. Research and analysis have shown that toxic phthalates are widely used in the manufacture of children’s products and clothes, and that levels of these preparations greatly exceed the safety standards that have been adopted. Phthalates are chemicals that are added to plastic products, in particular those made of PVC, to make them more pliable. In the majority of cases, these are toys for small children. As rightly stated by Helen Perivier, a Greenpeace campaign coordinator, some manufacturers are fully aware that they are adding compounds that pose a threat to children’s health, but they fail to take into account that it is children who are most susceptible to the effects of these chemicals. For as long as governments fail to force companies to use safe substitutes, children will continue to be exposed to the effects of substances that can cause long-term damage. Research has proven that phthalates can cause allergies and serious kidney and liver damage, and that they are carcinogens. It has also been confirmed that phthalates have a negative impact on levels of the male hormone testosterone, which is essential for normal male development. At the same time, they cause other tissues in the human body, including those in the brain, to develop abnormally. Current regulations governing the use of such chemicals leave much to be desired, and immediate action should be taken to change this state of affairs. This is a major problem, and so it is to be welcomed that the Luxembourg Presidency and the European Commission have drafted a compromise proposal extending the ban on the use of phthalates to all toys that children could place in their mouths. The question of imports from third countries still needs to be resolved. Toys imported from the Far East have traditionally contained high levels of phthalates."@en1

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