Deal reached: same job, same cancer protection across Europe

The EPP Group welcomes today’s agreement on stronger EU safeguards against workplace carcinogens, which will better protect workers while ensuring that companies have sufficient time and support to implement the new rules.

"Every year, around 120,000 workers in the EU are diagnosed with occupational cancer linked to exposure to carcinogens at work. This is a preventable tragedy that we cannot accept. By introducing stricter exposure limits, this agreement will better protect workers' health, reduce risks in the workplace and strengthen decent working conditions," said Liesbet Sommen MEP, the European Parliament’s chief negotiator on the file, after the successful end of the negotiations between EU Member States and the European Parliament.

"A worker in Antwerp deserves exactly the same protection as a worker in Athens or Lisbon. And vice versa. By finally establishing European limit values for a range of substances, we are putting an end to the patchwork of national rules that still leaves workers too often dependent on the country in which they work," Sommen continued.

The deal gives businesses sufficient time and support to adapt to the new requirements. "We also take into account the reality on the ground and have therefore given explicit extra attention to SMEs and micro-enterprises. They are the ones who must put these rules into practice. With good guidelines, support, and a strong social dialogue, we ensure that the protection of our workers also remains effectively workable," Sommen concluded.