PURPOSE: to approve, on behalf of the Union, the Minamata Convention on Mercury.

LEGISLATIVE ACT: Council Decision (EU) 2017/939 on the conclusion on behalf of the European Union of the Minamata Convention on Mercury.

CONTENT: with this Decision, the Council approved, on behalf of the European Union, the Minamata Convention on Mercury . The EU must now deposit the instrument of approval with the United Nations.

The Convention was adopted in Kumamoto (Japan) under the auspices of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). It provides for a framework for the control and limitation of the use, and of anthropogenic emissions and releases, of mercury and mercury compounds to air, water and land, with a view to protecting human health and the environment.

Mercury is a chemical of global concern owing to its long-range atmospheric transport.

In its conclusions of the 14 of March 2011, the Council reaffirmed its commitment to the overall objective of protecting human health and the environment from releases of mercury and its compounds by minimising and, where feasible, ultimately eliminating global anthropogenic mercury releases to air, water and land.

The Convention covers the full life cycle of mercury . It provides for example:

a ban new mercury mines and phase-out existing ones; restrictions on primary mercury mining and the international trade in mercury; control measures on emissions and releases; measures to prohibit the manufacture, import or export of mercury-added products; measures to phase-out and phase-down the use of mercury in a number of mercury-added products and processes, specifically its use in dental amalgam; measures to reduce mercury emissions from artisanal and small-scale gold mining and processing; measures to ensure the safer storage and proper management of mercury waste to occur in an environmentally sound manner as well as reduce the risks of contaminated sites.

ENTRY INTO FORCE: 11.5.2017.

The European Parliament adopted by 592 votes to 21, with 21 abstentions, a legislative resolution on the draft Council decision on the conclusion on behalf of the European Union of the Minamata Convention on Mercury.

In line with the recommendation made by the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, Parliament approved the conclusion of the Minamata Convention on Mercury.

The Minamata Convention on Mercury, adopted on 10 October 2013 in Kumamoto (Japan), is a global treaty under the auspices of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). It is the main international legal framework for cooperation and measures to control and limit the use and anthropogenic emissions of mercury and mercury compounds to air, water and land.

The Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety adopted the report by Stefan ECK (GUE/NGL, DE) on the draft Council decision on the conclusion on behalf of the European Union of the Minamata Convention on Mercury.

The committee recommended the European Parliament to give its consent to the conclusion of the Minamata Convention on Mercury.

The Minamata Convention on Mercury, adopted on 10 October 2013 in Kumamoto (Japan), is a global treaty under the auspices of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). It is the main international legal framework for cooperation and measures to control and limit the use and anthropogenic emissions of mercury and mercury compounds to air, water and land. With its immensely debilitating health impacts, mercury is among the world’s worst pollutants.

The Minamata Convention addresses the whole life cycle of mercury. It provides, for instance, for a ban on new and the phase-out of existing mercury mines, the phase-out and reduction of mercury use in a number of products and processes, control measures on emissions and releases, and the regulation of artisanal and small-scale gold mining. The Convention also addresses the storage of mercury, its disposal as waste, and mercury contaminated sites.

The rapporteur therefore welcomed the draft Council Decision on the conclusion, on behalf of the European Union, of the Minamata Convention on Mercury. It considered that the ratification of the Convention will be an important step towards a higher level of protection of human health and the environment from mercury and it will allow the EU to take an active role in shaping a global mercury-free policy.

PURPOSE: to conclude, on behalf of the Union, the Minamata Mercury Convention.

PROPOSED ACT: Council Decision.

ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: Council may adopt the act only if the European Parliament has approved it.

BACKGROUND: the Minamata Convention on Mercury , adopted in Kumamoto on 10 October 2013, was signed on behalf of the European Union, subject to its conclusion at a later date. Its objective is to protect human health and the environment from anthropogenic emissions and releases of mercury and mercury compounds. The convention must now be approved.

Mercury is a substance that is characterised by its transboundary nature. Action at global level is necessary to ensure the protection of people and the environment within the Union, in addition to internal measures.

As a follow-up to the Seventh Environmental Action Programme and the 2005 Community Strategy on Mercury (revised in 2010), the Council wishes to reaffirm its commitment to the overall objective of protecting human health and the environment from releases of mercury and its compounds by minimising and eventually eliminating, on a global scale, anthropogenic releases of mercury to air, water and soil. The Minamata Convention contributes to the achievement of these objectives.

CONTENT: The draft Council Decision on the conclusion of the Minamata Convention on Mercury aims at the approval, on behalf of the European Union, of the Minamata Mercury Convention .

The Convention provides for a framework for the control and limitation of the use of mercury and its compounds and the anthropogenic emissions and releases of these substances into air, water and soil in order to protect human health and the environment.

For more details on the content of the Convention, see the summary of the initial legislative proposal dated 2.2.2016.

PURPOSE: to conclude, on behalf of the Union, the Minamata Mercury Convention.

PROPOSED ACT: Council Decision.

ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: Council may adopt the act only if the European Parliament has approved it.

BACKGROUND: the Minamata Convention on Mercury , adopted in Kumamoto on 10 October 2013, was signed on behalf of the European Union, subject to its conclusion at a later date. Its objective is to protect human health and the environment from anthropogenic emissions and releases of mercury and mercury compounds. The convention must now be approved.

Mercury is a substance that is characterised by its transboundary nature. Action at global level is necessary to ensure the protection of people and the environment within the Union, in addition to internal measures.

As a follow-up to the Seventh Environmental Action Programme and the 2005 Community Strategy on Mercury (revised in 2010), the Council wishes to reaffirm its commitment to the overall objective of protecting human health and the environment from releases of mercury and its compounds by minimising and eventually eliminating, on a global scale, anthropogenic releases of mercury to air, water and soil. The Minamata Convention contributes to the achievement of these objectives.

CONTENT: The draft Council Decision on the conclusion of the Minamata Convention on Mercury aims at the approval, on behalf of the European Union, of the Minamata Mercury Convention .

The Convention provides for a framework for the control and limitation of the use of mercury and its compounds and the anthropogenic emissions and releases of these substances into air, water and soil in order to protect human health and the environment.

For more details on the content of the Convention, see the summary of the initial legislative proposal dated 2.2.2016.

PURPOSE: to approve, on behalf of the Union, the Minamata Convention on Mercury.

PROPOSED ACT: Council Decision.

ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: Council may adopt the act only if Parliament has given its consent to the act.

BACKGROUND: mercury is recognised as a global threat to human health and the environment. Mercury is characterised by its transboundary nature. Global action is therefore necessary to ensure the protection of the individuals and of the environment within the Union as a complement to domestic measures.

The Minamata Convention on Mercury , concluded under the auspices of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), is the main international legal framework for cooperation and measures to control and limit the use and anthropogenic emissions of mercury and mercury compounds to air, water and land.

The Convention was adopted and opened for signature at a Conference of the Plenipotentiaries in Kumamoto, Japan, in October 2013. The European Union and twenty-one Member States signed the Convention on 10 October 2013 while Croatia, Cyprus, Latvia and Poland did so on 24 September 2014 and Malta on 8 October 2014.

The EU has made significant progress for the last 10 years in addressing mercury domestically as a follow-up to the adoption in 2005 of the Community Strategy Concerning Mercury , as supported by the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament in its resolution dated 14.3. 2006.

The Strategy was reviewed in 2010 and was supported by the Council of the European Union.

The Seventh Environmental Action programme established the long-term objective of a non-toxic environment and stated, for that purpose, that action is needed to ensure the minimisation of significant adverse effects of chemicals on human health and the environment by 2020.

CONTENT: with the present draft Decision, the Council is called upon to approve, on behalf of the Union, the Minamata Convention on Mercury .

The Convention addresses the whole life-cycle of mercury with the objective to protect human health and the environment. It:

sets restrictions on primary mining and international trade of mercury; prohibits the manufacture, import and export of a wide range of mercury-added products; foresees prohibitions or operating conditions for several manufacturing processes using mercury and calls for discouraging new uses of mercury in products and industrial processes; provides for measures to be taken to reduce mercury emissions from Artisanal and Small-scale Gold Mining ("ASGM") and major industrial activities, including through the use of best available techniques; requires also interim storage of mercury and management of mercury waste to occur in an environmentally sound manner.

In parallel to this proposed Decision, the Commission has put forward a proposal for a Regulation by the European Parliament and the Council to transpose the limited number of provisions of the Convention that are not yet implemented into EU legislation.