On 17 April 2024, the European Council published former Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta’s report on the European Single Market on its website. The report includes comments on occupational safety and health and standardization. It points out the need for a deterioration in occupational safety and health to be averted. All too often, fatal and non-fatal occupational accidents, particularly in the construction sector, have been caused not by unfortunate events, but by negligence, insufficient investment and the pursuit of profit. Sound, thorough collection and analysis of data is essential for selective measures and safety strategies. In addition, occupational safety and health measures should increasingly address mental health and climate-related risks. The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) has an important role to play in all of these endeavours.
With regard to the Single Market being geared to a circular economy, Enrico Letta also calls for the EU, in conjunction with the European standards organizations, to continue to advocate for standards addressing the safe design of products for such an economy. Standards in this area are essential for longer product life and the quality of the recycled materials. Reliable standards would not only increase confidence in the circular economy in the EU: they would also promote the use of recycled materials in manufacturing processes and thus make Europe a pioneer of the circular economy.
Click here for the report on the European Single Market (pdf, not eAccessible)
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