WECF writes letter to European Voice

WECF sends a letter to the editor of the European Voice on the nomination of Hartmut Nassauer

29.09.2005 |Sascha Gabizon

To: Editor in Chief, European Voice
Subject: Nomination of Hartmut. Nassauer (EPP-ED) as MEP of the Year,
European Voice, 22-28 September, Vol. 11, Nr.33

Utrecht, The Netherlands, 29 September 2005

Dear Editor,

It is with great astonishment and confusion that we read of your nomination of Dr. Hartmut Nassauer’s as “Parliamentarian of the Year” for “his bold contribution to the debate on the REACH proposal […] for introducing the risk-based approach”. This must be a mistake! Anyone immersed in the REACH debate knows that the ‘risk-based’ approach came directly from chemical industry lobbyists. Moreover, even if Dr. Nassauer introduced the approach we fail to see the achievement. The “risk-based approach” comes down to a “don’t ask, don’t tell policy”: industry is lifted from investigating chemicals to generate even basic safety data which virtually guarantees that damaging chemicals will not be identified under REACH and will therefore continue to produce negative health effects on the European public. If we knew which chemicals are dangerous, as the risk-based approach assumes, we
wouldn’t need REACH. One could expect an enlightened paper like yours to be more creative and daring with selecting MEPs for such a nomination. By the way, the REACH that we have on the table now before the ENVI vote has no winners or achievers.

Yours sincerely,

Sascha Gabizon
International Director
Women in Europe for a Common Future

Download the letter to the European Voice.