September 2001

Sometimes the cure is worse than the ailment. And so it has proved with the decision this month to ban the use of a chemical widely used to fire-proof furniture. The European Parliament voted at first reading to ban pentaBDE, a flame retardant that is used extensively in the manufacture of polyurethane foam. This substance has been found by scientists to be harmful to the environment and is being detected in increasing levels in human breast milk. The ban was extended to a related substance, octaBDE, used in office equipment and domestic electrical appliances.

The days of 'spamming' or the sending of unsolicited junk mail via the Internet are numbered. The Parliament has referred a draft directive on privacy protection in electronic communication back to its Committee on Citizens' Freedoms and Rights, Justice and Home Affairs for further debate. MEPs are confident however a compromise can be reached between those determined on a blanket ban and those concerned about infringing the rights of the citizen. The main amendment being debated would prohibit the sending of junk e-mail without prior permission of the subscriber but allowing those who want to receive junk mail to opt in if they wish. The advertising industry would, of course, prefer the subscriber to have to opt out.

Collecting, testing and storing human blood was the subject of a recent proposal which had my wholehearted support. The proposal embraced the ethics as well as the safety issues surrounding blood donations. It stressed that blood was not a commodity but a `gift from one human being to another, given without regard to the recipient's race, religion or nationality.' MEPs, myself included, agree that blood components should only be collected from voluntary and unpaid donors because experience has shown that the type of person who volunteers to give blood is different from those who give blood for payment. On the other hand, I was also concerned, along with a minority, that we should not exclude imports of blood plasma from the USA which is sometimes from paid donors, because this product can be vital for European haemophiliacs. Voluntary blood donation is considered an important means of ensuring safe blood and reduces risks to both donor and patient.

You could say it was something of a cliff-hanger when MEPs called for Commission proposals to safeguard the sustainable development of mountain regions this month. Next year is the UN International Year of Mountains and the European Parliament wants a clearer definition of what constitutes a mountain. They also want to revise a directive on mountain and hill-farming in certain less-favoured areas on the grounds that, although it has helped slow down the exodus from the land, it has not reversed the trend. One way of slowing down the trend could be by the continuation of compensatory payments to hill and mountain farmers as a key element of the EU's policy on mountain regions. There could be a case, too, for a lump-sum system of aid payments to be extended to these farmers.

The so-called 'breakfast' directive has received overwhelming support from MEPs. The directive tightens up on the definitions of ingredients marked on the packaging of items like honey, fruit juice, preserved milk and fruit, jam and marmalade. It was, however, lunch-time before the vote took place as so many amendments about brown sugar, filtered honey, baker's honey and information on the composition of fruit juices and dehydrated preserved milk had to be voted on first!