Tonight, the EP’s ENVI committee is set to vote on an objection to the EU LIFE work programme 2025-2027. The LIFE programme is the EU's only programme financing action for health, nature and climate protection, especially at local level. For over three decades, LIFE has supported over 6,000 projects, many of which have led to tangible health improvements, e.g. through cleaner air. A modest amount of the LIFE programme is allocated for operating grants for NGOs. HEAL is concerned that a group of center-right Parliamentarians aims to derail the programme's execution in their rally against civil society.
HEAL has sent a letter to EU member states Permanent Representatives regarding the ongoing negotiations between the Council, Parliament and Commission on the revision of the EU Toy Safety Regulation.
This revision follows findings that the current EU law does not adequately protect children from harmful chemicals in toys. Children are particularly vulnerable to these chemicals as their bodies are still developing – their brain, immune and hormonal systems are very fragile and can be easily affected even by low-level exposure to harmful chemicals.
To protect children and their families from these harmful substances, the revised Toy Safety Regulation must include:
- A ban on PFAS, the ‘forever chemicals’
- A ban on the bisphenols group
- A broadening of the chemicals restriction mechanism to include all the most harmful chemicals, including five hazard classes: chemicals that persist, bioaccumulate, are mobile and toxic, as well as endocrine disruptors for the environment
- The inclusion of the precautionary principle in the operational part of the law
Read the full letter here
