ENVI Committee vote supports Industry's position
01 September 2018
On September 10, the ENVI Committee of the European Parliament adopted a series of amendments requesting full harmonisation of products and materials in contact with drinking water, in line with Industry’s position. The EDW has been in contact with the Rapporteur and several other MEPs prior to the vote successfully conveying Industry’s view. Several of the EDW proposals have been incorporated in their amendments.
- Recital 12 asks for the establishment of minimum hygienic requirements as an essential step towards the mutual recognition of goods. Harmonisation of materials and products should build on the work already performed by other Member States (see pages 9 and 10 of the attached Q&A);
- Article 10a on minimum hygienic requirements empowers the Commission to adopt delegated acts laying down the minimum hygienic requirements and positive substances lists;
- A review clause has been added for the Commission to assess in 5 years the effectiveness of this provision in Article 10a, and to propose new measures should it be necessary.
In terms of next steps, the Plenary vote will be held on 27 October. Timing remains uncertain for a Council agreement on their approach for contact materials and products, but the start of trilogue negotiations is foreseen for Q4 of 2018.
BEAMA will continue to engage with CEIR and EDW on this topic. BEAMA will be present at the next CEIR Board meeting on October 23, where the next steps following the last EDW meeting on August 22 will be discussed.
Furthermore, please find in attachment for your information the Q&A document elaborated by EDW (an industry consortium in which BEAMA participates through CEIR) on the DWD and the importance of harmonisation of products and materials in contact with drinking water. (While the first few pages are quite general, the issues around the Commission proposal are explained in detail from page 6).
ENVI Committee's amendments.pdf 1
