Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) and the NGO health community disapprove of the latest European Commission (EC) communication on Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs) and call for a comprehensive EU strategy.
In a joint effort the European Society of Endocrinology (ESE) and the Endocrine Society organised, on Monday 19 November 2018, a high-level policy debate inside the European Parliament. MEPs and other stakeholders gathered to discuss the ongoing EU activities around EDCs, and in particular the recent EC communication towards a comprehensive EU framework on endocrine disruptors.
Hosted by MEP’s Eric Andrieu (S&D) and Lieve Wierinck (ALDE) and co-moderated by ESE CEO Helen Gregson, the meeting featured presentations by Prof Vera Popovic (Serbia) and Prof Angel Nadal (Spain). The experts conveyed the positions of ESE and the Endocrine Society on the EC Communication and the issue of EDCs in general. Prof Jorma Toppari (Finland) discussed the detrimental effects of EDC’s on fertility and the enormous societal consequences of reduced fertility in the future. During the discussion with the audience he extended the debate beyond the classical scope of estrogen-adrenal- thyroid-steroidogenesis axes by highlighting the concerns of the scientific community around metabolic diseases like type 1 diabetes and their potential association with EDCs.
The meeting was a strong call for action to the EC to not further delay improved EU regulation in this area.
‘In view of overwhelming evidence and the long-term impact of EDCs across generations concrete measures cannot be procrastinated any longer’, commented Helen Gregson.
It was agreed that while further research is needed and welcomed, this cannot serve as an excuse to further postpone action and not renew the current EDC strategy that was initiated in 1999.
Prof Vera Popovic commented on the discussion: ‘This meeting was an excellent engagement with around 40 stakeholders in the EDC debate. I felt a keen interest from the MEP’s to further engage with the experts and consider additional action in the future.’
See the ESE statement responding to the latest EC communication on EDC’s.
See the press release relating to the latest EC communication on the issue.
07/11/2018