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The European Federation of Building and Woodworkers (EFBWW), the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) and the European Public Services Union (EPSU) are calling on the Belgian Presidency of the EU to act quickly to establish a European legal framework for the control and registration of asbestos in order to protect workers’ health and safety.
The European Commission announced in 2022 that it would present a legislative proposal to this effect and would ask Member States to put in place national asbestos removal strategies. But nothing has happened.
Last January, the trade unions wrote to the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. They drew her attention to “the urgent need to press ahead with the legislative initiative”. Knowing where asbestos is present is the first and most important prerequisite for the safe removal of any remaining asbestos.