The European Parliament recently adopted in plenary (full session) its report on the ongoing revision of the EU Ambient Air Quality Directives which reflects ESMO’s recommendations to set the annual limit value for Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5) at 5 µg/m³ and aligns EU air quality standards with the most recent WHO guidelines. This follows on from the European Commission’s (October 2022) proposal to revise the EU legislation on air pollution, setting the annual limit value for fine particulate matter (PM2.5) at 10 µg/m³ (reduction from the current 25 µg/m³). The recent adoption of the report confirms the European Parliament’s mandate to enter the interinstitutional negotiations with the co-legislators – the European Commission and EU Council - to negotiate and agree the final text of the Directive.
Following ESMO’s response to a public consultation and engagement with EU member states/MEPs, which secured the inclusion of the aforementioned recommendations, ESMO continues engaging with the co-legislators to secure the inclusion of the limit of 5 µg/m³ in the final text of this legislation to prevent cancer cases caused by air pollution.