Two recent reports have highlighted the way in which certain industries have been lobbying against EU regulation of hormone disrupting chemicals.
The first, by Corporate Europe Observatory and journalist Stéphane Horel:
“exposes corporate lobby groups mobilising to stop the EU taking action on hormone (endocrine) disrupting chemicals (EDCs). The report sheds light on how corporations and their lobby groups have used numerous tactics from the corporate lobbying playbook: scaremongering, evidence-discrediting, and delaying tactics, as well as using the ongoing TTIP negotiations as a leverage. But industry’s interests were also defended by actors within the Commission”
The second, by Pesticides Action Network, particularly focusses on the European Commission’s Health department, DG Santé (formerly DG Sanco) and uses documents obtained from the Commission to argue that this DG worked to undermine action on hormone disrupting chemicals:
“In 2013, DG SANCO continued their undermining activities and took advantage of a massive and unprecedented industry lobby that gained easily credibility at economic-focused EU Commission services such DG Enterprise, DG Trade and the Secretary-General. These economic DGs were keen to believe the exaggerated claims of industry about the big profit losses that the banning of EDC-pesticides would bring and were concerned about alleged negative effects of the endocrine policy on the EU-US trade talks (TTIP).”
These two reports are worrying examples of the scale of industry lobbying against EU action on hormone disrupting chemicals. Politicians and other decision makers need to be aware of this lobbying, and the importance of acting in the public interest.
CHEM Trust is quoted in the Daily Express coverage of these reports:
Dr Michael Warhurst, executive director of the CHEM Trust, said: “It’s shocking that the chemical and pesticide industries – aided by the UK government – have been lobbying against rapid action on these hazardous chemicals.”
