As the EU Commission and representatives of member states gather on 3 April 2025 to discuss the reform of EU chemicals legislation REACH, HEAL stresses the importance of putting health at the core of the revision. The CARACAL meeting will see the EU Commission present their initial plan for reforming REACH.
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.
Civil society engagement is at the heart of the European project and brings forward a unique perspective to EU decision-making.
Climate change, environmental pollution and biodiversity loss affect people’s health and generate multi-billion-euro economic losses, as a briefing produced by HEAL Poland under the patronage of the Institute of Water Economy and Meteorology of the National Research Institute and the Polish Federation of Asthma, Allergy, and COPD Patients Associations highlights.
HEAL, together with Arnika, Cancer Prevention and Education Society, CHEM Trust, ChemSec, ClientEarth, EEB, Fidra, and Zero Waste Europe have sent a letter calling on the EuropeanCommission to swiftly give a mandate to ECHA to prepare a restriction dossier for aromatic brominated flame retardants based on their recent investigation report which concludes that these substances pose a high burden to the environment.
Hormone-disrupting chemicals found in personal care products and plastics harm children's health, new research from the EU-funded ATHLETE project finds. The exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals and the health effects on over 370 children in France were studied. Endocrine-disrupting chemicals, such as parabens and phthalates, were linked to poorer child overall health. It suggests that they could contribute to the development of multiple chronic diseases related to cardiometabolic, respiratory and neurodevelopmental health.
A new policy brief, co-published by HEAL and the Independent Health Insurance Funds (Mutualités Libres), shows that the Belgian LEZs in Brussels and Antwerp have led to tangible air quality improvements in a period of only five years. Concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) pollution was reduced by 30% in Antwerp and 37% in Brussels.
HEAL's Deputy Director, Strategic Lead Anne Stauffer will attend tomorrow's High-Level Meeting on the upcoming Chemicals Industry Package, on invitation by European Commissioners Séjourné and Rosvall.
Several organisations, including HEAL, are calling for European Commissioner Séjourné to ensure the most harmful chemicals will no longer be allowed in children’s toys. The EU is currently revising its Toy Safety Legislation — a key opportunity for policymakers to strengthen protections for children against most harmful chemicals with no further delay.
HEAL, alongside other organisations, are calling for on Stéphane Séjourné, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission, to commit to revise the Toy Safety law in the European public interest and protect Europe’s children from the most harmful chemicals in toys.
HEAL, together with the European Environmental Bureau (EEB) and ChemTrust, has submitted joint comments to the Commission proposal on new REACH information requirements for endocrine disruptors.
The Health and Environment Alliance organises a webinar on the impact of pesticides on human health on the occasion of the Pesticide Action Week 2025. The webinar will see experts from the European Environment Agency and others present their work on this front.
Press note: HEAL together, with the other EDC-Free Europe coalition campaign partners, are calling on the European Commission to urgently propose the non-renewal of two harmful pesticides—fenoxaprop-P-ethyl and fludioxonil.
In the coming months, EU institutions will negotiate the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF). The MFF is the EU’s long-term budget, usually covering a seven-year period. It details the public spending for different areas of EU policies, including environment and climate action.
On World Cancer Day, representatives from the Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL) Poland attended the meeting of the Parliamentary Group "Rodzice dla Klimatu" (Parents for Climate). Experts from non-governmental organisations, the scientific community, and the healthcare sector discussed the impact of pollution on cancer and prevention. Olga Wdowiczak, environmental health policy specialist at HEAL, presented findings on how exposure to hazardous chemicals increases the cancer risk, particularly for children.
Against the backdrop of an ever-growing body of evidence on the health impacts and cost of people's exposure to pollution, HEAL is concerned that the Clean Industrial Deal misses the opportunity to set the EU on the path for swift and significant pollution reduction and disease prevention. To work for people in the EU and their health, the Clean Industrial Deal needs to be a zero pollution deal, with three principles at its core.
In the run up to the Second World Health Organization Global Conference on Air Pollution and Health, HEAL has co-initiated a call urging governments, world leaders and decision-makers to commit to strong, bold actions to ensure clean air for all.
