The European Federation of Building and Woodworkers (EFBWW), jointly with the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) and the European Public Services Union (EPSU) asked the Belgian presidency to push for a European legal framework for the screening and registration of asbestos. The trade unions sent two letters adressed to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Employment, Pierre-Yves Dermagne, and to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Social Affairs and Health, Frank Vandenbroucke.
This piece of legislation is vital to protect workers: knowledge of the presence of asbestos is the first and most important prerequisite for the safe removal of any remaining asbestos.
The European Commission announced in 2022 that it was going to "put forward a legislative proposal on the screening and registration of asbestos in buildings and ask Member States to set up national strategies for asbestos removal (2023).
Unfortunately, nothing has happened since then and, apparently, the dossier is being blocked at the level of the Commission President's cabinet. Therefore, trade unions are calling the Belgian Presidency to do everything possible during the remaining time of the Council Presidency to push this legal process forward.
Read full letters here and here.