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Changing German policy on EDCs

Achieving good EDCs criteria and strategy at the EU level, which guarantees a high level of protection for human health and the environment.

29.06.2016


Countries: Germany, EU
Donors: EEHI – European Environment and Health Initiative
Issues: Chemicals and Health
Duration: 06/2016 - 12/2016

The project aims specifically at influencing the German Government’s position on EU’s EDC policies and make policy-makers act accordingly to guarantee a high level of protection for human health and the environment.  WECF wants to increase the German media’s interest in the topic and get more media attention. Additionally we aim at engaging the health-sector in the issue to create more pressure for acting.

2016 is an important year for advocacy on EDCs at the EU and national level. Forced by an ECJ judgement in November 2015, the European Commission finally published a first draft of EDCs criteria in June 2016. The published draft criteria are so weak that further action is needed to encouraging members of the European Parliament and the German Government to go for better criteria which really protect human health and environment. EDCs so far are not on a high level of the political agenda, there is no EDCs action plan in Germany, and EDCs receives little attention in German media. This should be improved by this project.


Objectives and linked activities of the project:


Media in Germany should report about Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs)

WECF will networking a core group of journalists to report on EDCs and providing media with press releases and relevant information on the topic. Furthermore, WECF will actively promote the communication of the EDC-free campaign www.edc-free-europe.org in cooperation with the EDC-free secretariat. 

In frame of the publication of the first draft of EDCs criteria by the EU Commission on June 15th WECF has been active with spreading information and calling for a better solution.
Read more here (in German): 
http://www.wecf.eu/german/pressemeldungen/ 
http://www.wecf.eu/german/pressemeldungen/2016/edc_eu.php 
http://www.wecf.eu/german/news/2016/edc_eu.php 
https://www.google.de/?gws_rd=ssl#q=edc-free+europe  

German policy-makers will act on EDCs

Based on our activities and gained results in former projects WECF will campaign on providing responsible policy-makers and representatives at the Ministries such as the Ministry of Environment, Health, and Food and Agriculture, as well as Parliamentarians with lobby-activities about political recommendations and demands to act for a better policy on protection from EDCs. WECF Germany will also use work closely together with WECF France.

WECF Germany attended a symposium on EDCs organized by WECF France in Paris in June 2016 on the impact of toxic chemicals from early life exposure, protecting pregnant women and babies from hazardous chemicals esp. EDCs., the scientific status quo, how decision maker could act, what we can do now. More information here http://www.wecf.eu/francais/actualites/2016/ToutSurLeColloque9Juin.php 

Lobby activities


•    June 8, 2016: WECF together with other European NGOs signs a letter to European Commission President Juncker demanding to set up criteria on ECCs based on scientific knowledge without potency. Read more

•   June 16, 2016: After the publication of the draft EDC criteria by the European Commission WECF together with PAN Germany wrote an open letter to the German minister of Environment Barbara Hendricks to call for urgent action for good EDC criteria

• September 21, 2016 : Meeting with the German Minister of Environment in Berlin. WECF called upon the German government to take a strong position regarding the protection from EDCs. WECF handed over a WECF position paper on EDCs, the Statement of the Endocrine Society and the FIGO Statement 

•   November 16, 2016: Together with the German NGO coalition, WECF published an open letter to the German Minister of Environment and the German Minister of Agriculture (Christian Schmidt). 

•   November 30, 2016: WECF Germany, together with other NGOs, handed 100.000 signatures over to Environment Minister Hendricks.

•   December 22, 2016: WECF and the NGO partners released a common statement on the third round of negotiations from the 22nd December about the EU Commission’s proposals on identifying EDCs.

Workshop on EDCs at the BMUB 30 Festival der Zukunft of the German Ministry of Environment, Berlin, September 2016

The German Ministry of Environment celebrated its 30th anniversary with a huge meeting and fair in Berlin. WECF brought the EDCs issue to an event that took place on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the German Ministry of Environment, BMUB 30 Festival der Zukunft, which took place in Berlin, September 11th – 12th. There WECF informed attendees about EDCs at an exhibit booth, gave a presentation at a workshop, and met with high level decision-makers. More information here (english) and here (german).

This project is financed by the European Environment and Health Project, EEHI.



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