Call for review
In 2007, the Commission prepared the mid-term review of the European Environment & Health Action Plan 2004-2010. In its response adopted on 4 September 2008, the European Parliament called "upon the Council to amend its Recommendation 1999/519/EC in order to take into account the Member States' best practices and thus to set stricter exposure limits for all equipment which emits electromagnetic waves in the frequencies between 0.1 MHz and 300 GHz". The Commission responded in Document SP(2008)6486..
In its resolution on "Health concerns associated with electromagnetic fields" of 2 April 2009, the European Parliament did not renew its earlier call upon the Council. It decided instead to "urge the Commission to review the scientific basis and adequacy of the EMF limits as laid down in Recommendation 1999/519/EC and report to the Parliament" and to "call for the review to be undertaken by the Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks". The Commission responded in Document SP(2009)3508.
Written questions from the European Parliament (since 2006)
Overview of written questions from the European Parliament on EMF (2006 -)
EU action on electromagnetic fields is based on the Council Recommendation limiting the public's exposure to such fields (0 Hz- 300 GHz).
This Recommendation:
- proposes a set of basic restrictions & reference levels
- provides guidance to EU national governments
- creates a basis for EU legislation on product safety
- calls on the Commission to regularly review any effects electromagnetic fields may have on health.
Restrictions and reference levels proposed by the Recommendation are based on guidelines from the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (a body of independent scientific experts recognised by the World Health Organization).
In 1999, the EU Scientific Steering Committee endorsed these guidelines and subsequently kept them under review by 4 ad-hoc scientific Opinions on the potential health effects of EMF exposure.
EU legislative measures
The Recommendation serves as a reference for EU rules in other areas:
- Directive 2004/40/EC, replaced by Directive 2013/35/EU, sets out minimum health & safety requirements as regards workers' exposure to the risks arising from electromagnetic fields.
- Directive 2006/95/EC, replaced by Directive 2014/35/EU, deals with low-voltage electrical equipment.
- Directive 1999/5/EC, replaced by Directive 2014/53/EU, covers radio & telecommunications terminal equipment.
EU monitoring of potential health effects
The Commission is monitoring new developments in research into the potential health effects of exposure to electromagnetic fields.
At its request, the Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks (SCENIHR) has so far delivered 5 Opinions that provide periodical reviews of the scientific evidence on the health effects of exposure to electromagnetic fields.
These scientific opinions have not provided any scientific justification for revising the exposure limits (basic restrictions and reference levels) under Council Recommendation 1999/519/EC. However, they acknowledge that basic data for evaluating some risks is still limited, especially for long-term, low-level exposure. This means further research is needed.
The latest SCENIHR opinion, based on over 700 studies - mostly conducted after 2009 - is now available.
The Commission has also summarised several SCENIHR opinions on subjects including electromagnetic fields for non-specialists. These are available in 4 languages.
Action by the European Parliament
Parliament has adopted resolutions on electromagnetic fields and regularly sends written questions to the Commission.
Action by the European Economic & Social Committee
The Committee (an EU advisory body) recently produced an own-initiative Opinion on electromagnetic hypersensitivity.
Stakeholder Dialogue Group
This met 4 times in 2011 to identify the main issues for the various stakeholders and to make appropriate recommendations. For more information, see the minutes.
The most recent meeting was held in Athens in March 2014 at the Workshop on electromagnetic fields and health effects: from science to policy and public awareness.