Joint statement: Europe must align policies to tackle Pharmaceuticals in the Environment and Antimicrobial Resistance

Joint Statement

Europe must align policies to tackle Pharmaceuticals in the Environment and Antimicrobial Resistance

The signatories urge European policymakers to ensure that Europe’s response to the threat posed by the presence of pharmaceuticals in the environment (PiE) is taken seriously, and that present and future European action will be timely, resolute and coordinated in all relevant policies.

Especially in light of the looming and severe public health crisis posed by antimicrobial resistance (AMR) fuelled by, inter alia, pollution caused by pharmaceuticals throughout their life-cycle, we underline that only a multi-sectoral, multi-stakeholder approach can generate the required results for the continued health of people, animals and ecosystems, in Europe and globally.

The European Commission is set to release the long-awaited strategic approach to PiE, which will contain a series of measures to alleviate pollution and other damage caused by pharmaceutical residues released into the environment. The strategic approach follows the Commission’s 2017 follow-up Action Plan against AMR, which we regret falls short on the environmental side, and ignores clear evidence on the extent of pharmaceutical pollution.

Statement continues…