The Czech Republic has been at the helm of the Council of the European Union (CZ PRES) for six months. This historic second Czech Presidency was under the motto "Europe as a task" and ran from 1 July to 31 December 2022. In this role, the Czech Republic faced several challenges, including the war in Ukraine, the energy crisis, and the negotiations on the EU Green Deal.
RECETOX's involvement in the activities of the Ministry of the Environment during the Czech EU Presidency focused on two areas: firstly, the EU's preparation for the negotiations on the mandate of the Global Expert Panel on Chemicals, Waste, and Pollution, and secondly, involvement in the negotiations of the new Plastics Treaty.
The Expert Panel is being negotiated in the framework of the global Open-Ended Working Group on the ascience-policy panel to contribute further to the sound management of chemicals and waste and prevent pollution. (OEWG SPP). Its meetings took place on 6 October 2022 in Nairobi and from 30 January to 3 February 2023 in Bangkok, Thailand.
In the case of the Panel, RECETOX was instrumental in preparing the EU for both parts of the meeting but also contributed to the actual development of the negotiating mandate for this future scientific body as early as spring 2022. In addition, Professor Martin Scheringer of RECETOX was one of the authors of an article in Science magazine entitled "We need a global science-policy body on chemicals and waste[1]," which called for the creation of a global scientific body.
In the WP IEI - Global Issues formation, preparations for the first meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee for a new global treaty on reducing plastic pollution, including in the marine environment, culminated during our presidency. This area has been on the radar of global fora for several years. The decision to prepare such an international instrument in March 2022 (UNEA resolution)[2] has given new impetus to all efforts. The road to this is still in its early days, but we are pleased that we, as RECETOX, have been able to provide scientific facts on the issue of microplastics and their impacts on health and the environment through Ondřej Adamovský. Ondřej Adamovský's presentation was the main contribution of the Czech Republic during the September informal meeting of 60 WP IEI Global experts in Prague, as well as the EU's contribution during the side event during the first INC meeting on plastics in Uruguay.
Didn’t you manage to join the Presidency and would like to join? The next opportunity will come again during the 3rd Czech Presidency of the EU Council, which will probably take place in the first half of 2036, and RECETOX wants to be there. But you don't have to wait that long - the team at the National Centre and the Regional Centre of the Stockholm Convention has been working systematically on the use of RECETOX's scientific information in cooperation with ministries and international organizations for a long time, so you can join us and get involved now.
[1] https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abe9090
[2] https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/39764/END%20PLASTIC%20POLLUTION%20-%20TOWARDS%20AN%20INTERNATIONAL%20LEGALLY%20BINDING%20INSTRUMENT%20-%20English.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
Scientist Luděk Sehnal, a successful applicant for several prestigious scholarships for which he and his family traveled the world, is finishing his work in Germany and plans to return to RECETOX. He wishes to pass on his experience and support the development of excellent science in the Czech Republic.
This June, the 20th-anniversary of summer school and training within the PARC project on chemical exposure and modeling will occur at RECETOX. Remember to register by April 28 via the form.
