Overview
This morning the Environment Committee of the European Parliament (ENVI Committee) voted to object to the Commission’s draft amendment to the Plant Protection Products Regulation (PPPR) setting out the scientific criteria to determine endocrine disrupting (ED) properties (see our previous alert: “Endocrine Disruptors: European Commission Issues Proposed Criteria”), pursuant to rule 106 of the Rules of Procedure of the European Parliament and Article 5a(3)(b) of Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 (as amended).
The objection was adopted by the ENVI Committee (with +36 / -26 votes) and will now be voted on by the full plenary of the European Parliament. This will be in all likelihood at its upcoming plenary session (October 2-5, 2017).
The objection opposes the draft measure (implementing act setting out the criteria for the determination of endocrine disrupting properties under the PPPR) on the grounds that the Commission has exceeded its implementing powers by modifying an essential regulatory element of the basic act. The objection, amongst others, calls upon the Commission to withdraw the draft regulation and to submit a new, amended one to the Committee. It also calls upon hazard-based criteria to identify EDs.
