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EU Ombudsman blasts Commission over chemicals safety

Published

1 year ago

October 21, 2024

EU Ombudsman blasts Commission over chemicals safety

Many highly dangerous substances have remained on the market, sometimes for years, while the EU executive flouts legal deadlines on authorisation decisions, the Ombudsman has found, warning of a ‘threat to health and environment’.

Systematic delays to decisions on the authorisation of dangerous chemicals amount to “maladministration” by the European Commission and the practice is putting people and ecosystems at risk, the EU Ombudsman Emily O’Reilly has found.

The Commission is required by law to table a draft decision within three months of a request for a permit to continue using a banned substance – possible in cases where a producer or manufacturer can demonstrate that risks can be minimized and there is no viable alternative.

But the results of an investigation launched last year on O’Reilly’s initiative and made public today show the EU executive takes over 14 months on average to take such decisions, and sometimes several years.

‘Threat to health’

“These delays represent a threat to human health and the environment as companies are able to continue using the chemical substances, which may be carcinogenic, mutagenic, toxic for reproduction, or have endocrine disrupting properties, during the authorisation process,” her office said in a statement.

The findings came as no surprise to environmental campaigners, who have complained for years about the glacial pace of the EU chemicals restriction process.

For the European Environmental Bureau (EEB), an NGO umbrella group, the probe clearly shows that “EU officials broke the law by delaying bans on dangerous chemicals over the course of nearly two decades”.

But the Commission has blamed delays on the complicated process set out under the EU’s main chemicals regulation, known as REACH.

In a publicly available response to the Ombudsman’s initial request, the Commission said in August that it “in principle avoids proceeding to votes [on the decisions] if there is no reassurance of sufficient support” from the EU’s 27 member states, represented in a committee of government delegates that meets behind closed doors in Brussels.

Another excuse given was the “limited availability of suitable meeting rooms at Commission premises”.

For Tatiana Santos, a chemicals specialist at the EEB, the Commission should not be swayed by political considerations. “What we are talking about here is really the Commission’s failure to even draft a proposal to put to the vote,” she told Euronews.

“One of the arguments they use is that they have internal political discussions within the Commission,” Santos said. “And what we claim is, you don’t have to do that because the political discussions should take place in the REACH Committee, not in the Commission.”

The Ombudsman also criticised the secrecy surrounding the committee, concluding that the Commission’s lack of transparency also constituted maladministration. Public records of the meetings contain scant information on the reasons for delays or the positions of individual governments, O’Reilly found.

‘Reckless’

Hélène Duguy of the legal charity ClientEarth, said the findings suggest a “reckless” attitude towards chemicals regulation. “This unacceptable behaviour undermines the rule of law and people’s trust in EU institutions,” she said. “It’s now time that EU officials pay heed to the Ombudsman’s recommendations and prioritise public interest over the profits of toxic companies.”

The EU executive said it had “taken note” of the Ombudsman’s criticism. “Some of these procedures for adopting these decisions are quite complex,” a spokesperson told reporters in Brussels. “Some of the timelines are not within the control of the Commission.”

The Commission has three months to respond in detail, but was “willing to examine how our internal procedures can be improved”, the spokesperson said. President Ursula von der Leyen had pledged to “simplify” regulations during her second term, having been criticised for shelving a planned revision of the REACH regulation during her first.

Environmentalists are concerned more broadly that the Green Deal agenda of von der Leyen’s first term will be replaced with a sharper focus on industrial competitiveness in her second, with environmental standards allowed to slip.

Commissioner designate for environment Jessika Roswall is tasked with overseeing chemicals policy reform, and is likely to face a tough parliamentary hearing on 5 November.

Green MEP Jutta Paulus told Euronews she expects Roswall and Frenchman Stéphane Séjourné, who is in line for the industrial portfolio, to demonstrate a commitment to maintaining health and environmental standards.

“They should give assurances that the simplification of REACH will not undermine this protection, but rather accelerate the regulation of hazardous and whole groups of substances,” Paulus said.

Related Topics:chemical pollution Chemicals environment EU Policy Featured public health

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World

Some flu measures decline, but it’s not clear this severe season has peaked

Published

4 hours ago

January 9, 2026

Press Room

Some flu measures decline, but it’s not clear this severe season has peaked

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. flu infections showed signs of a slight decline last week, but health officials say it is not clear that this severe flu season has peaked.

New government data posted Friday — for flu activity through last week — showed declines in medical office visits due to flu-like illness and in the number of states reporting high flu activity.

However, some measures show this season is already surpassing the flu epidemic of last winter, one of the harshest in recent history. And experts believe there is more suffering ahead.

“This is going to be a long, hard flu season,” New York State Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald said, in a statement Friday.

One type of flu virus, called A H3N2, historically has caused the most hospitalizations and deaths in older people. So far this season, that is the type most frequently reported. Even more concerning, more than 91% of the H3N2 infections analyzed were a new version — known as the subclade K variant — that differs from the strain in this year’s flu shots.

The last flu season saw the highest overall flu hospitalization rate since the H1N1 flu pandemic 15 years ago. And child flu deaths reached 289, the worst recorded for any U.S. flu season this century — including that H1N1 “swine flu” pandemic of 2009-2010.

So far this season, there have been at least 15 million flu illnesses and 180,000 hospitalizations, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates. It also estimates there have been 7,400 deaths, including the deaths of at least 17 children.

Last week, 44 states reported high flu activity, down slightly from the week before. However, flu deaths and hospitalizations rose.

Determining exactly how flu season is going can be particularly tricky around the holidays. Schools are closed, and many people are traveling. Some people may be less likely to see a doctor, deciding to just suffer at home. Others may be more likely to go.

Also, some seasons see a surge in cases, then a decline, and then a second surge.

For years, federal health officials joined doctors’ groups in recommending that everyone 6 months and older get an annual influenza vaccine. The shots may not prevent all symptoms but can prevent many infections from becoming severe, experts say.

But federal health officials on Monday announced they will no longer recommend flu vaccinations for U.S. children, saying it is a decision parents and patients should make in consultation with their doctors.

“I can’t begin to express how concerned we are about the future health of the children in this country, who already have been unnecessarily dying from the flu — a vaccine preventable disease,” said Michele Slafkosky, executive director of an advocacy organization called Families Fighting Flu.

“Now, with added confusion for parents and health care providers about childhood vaccines, I fear that flu seasons to come could be even more deadly for our youngest and most vulnerable,” she said in a statement.

Flu is just one of a group of viruses that tend to strike more often in the winter. Hospitalizations from COVID-19 and RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus, also have been rising in recent weeks — though were not diagnosed nearly as often as flu infections, according to other federal data.

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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

World

Russia fires new hypersonic missile in massive Ukraine attack, Kremlin says

Published

5 hours ago

January 9, 2026

Press Room

Russia fires new hypersonic missile in massive Ukraine attack, Kremlin says

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Russia said on Friday it used its new hypersonic Oreshnik missile in an attack against Ukraine, according to reports.

The Kremlin said that the strike was carried out in response to what it said was an attempted Ukrainian drone strike on one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s residences, something Kyiv has denied, according to Reuters.

The outlet noted that Ukraine and the U.S. have cast doubt on Russia’s claims about the alleged attempted attack on Putin’s residence on Dec. 29, the report said. Ukraine called it “an absurd lie,” while President Donald Trump also doubted the veracity of the claim, saying he did not believe the strike occurred and that “something” unrelated happened nearby.

This is the second time Russia has used the intermediate-range Oreshnik, which Putin has said is impossible to intercept because of its velocity, Reuters reported.

RUSSIA ALLEGES ATTACK ON PUTIN RESIDENCE AS UKRAINE DENIES CLAIM AHEAD OF TRUMP TALKS

A part of the Russian nuclear-capable hypersonic Oreshnik missile system at the site of the Russian missile strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Lviv region, Ukraine, Jan. 9, 2026. (Security Service of Ukraine/Handout via Reuters)

The Russian Defense Ministry said that the strike targeted critical infrastructure in Ukraine, according to Reuters, which added that Russia said the attack also used attack drones and high-precision long-range land and sea-based weapons.

While Moscow did not say where the missile hit, Russian media and military bloggers said it targeted an underground natural gas storage facility in Ukraine’s western Leviv region, CBS News reported. Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadoviy said the attack hit critical infrastructure but did not give details, the outlet added.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the attack on social media, saying that the aftermath was “still being dealt with.”

“Twenty residential buildings alone were damaged. Recovery operations after the strikes also continue in the Lviv region and other regions of our country. Unfortunately, as of now, it is known that four people have been killed in the capital alone. Among them is an ambulance crew member. My condolences to their families and loved ones,” Zelenskyy wrote.

A resident stands on the balcony of his apartment, damaged during a Russian drone strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Jan. 9, 2026. (Anatolii Stepanov/Reuters)

PUTIN RESIDENCE ATTACK VIDEO SLAMMED AS US OFFICIALS SAY UKRAINE DID NOT TARGET LEADER

The Ukrainian leader said the attack involved 242 drones, 13 ballistic missiles, one Oreshnik missile and 22 cruise missiles. Zelenskyy added that the ballistic missiles were aimed at energy facilities and civilian infrastructure as the people of Ukraine faced “a significant cold spell.” He said the attack was “aimed precisely against the normal life of ordinary people.” However, he assured that Ukraine was working to restore heating and electricity.

Zelenskyy claimed that in addition to the civilian infrastructure, a building of the Embassy of Qatar was damaged in the attack.

Apartment buildings hit by a Russian missile strike late yesterday, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in the city of in Kryvyi Rih, Dnipropetrovsk region, Ukraine, on Jan. 9, 2026. (Stringer/Reuters)

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“A clear reaction from the world is needed. Above all from the United States, whose signals Russia truly pays attention to. Russia must receive signals that it is its obligation to focus on diplomacy, and must feel consequences every time it again focuses on killings and the destruction of infrastructure,” Zelenskyy added.

A spokesperson for the State Department told Fox News Digital that the U.S. remains committed to ending the war through diplomatic means, emphasizing that it is the only path toward a durable peace. The spokesperson underscored Trump’s desire to end the war that is approaching its fourth year.

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment.

Rachel Wolf is a breaking news writer for Fox News Digital and FOX Business.

World

Mercosur: How Macron’s domestic weakness undercut his Brussels clout

Published

6 hours ago

January 9, 2026

Press Room

The French president’s failure to assemble a blocking minority against the Mercosur deal underscores how his domestic weakness is undermining his clout in Brussels. By contrast, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Germany have secured an important victory.