Text · Report parliamentary committee draft
On the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) 2017/852 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 May 2017 on mercury as regards dental amalgam and other mercury-added products subject to manufacturing, import and export restrictions
Full title
On the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) 2017/852 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 May 2017 on mercury as regards dental amalgam and other mercury-added products subject to manufacturing, import and export restrictions
Document ENVI-PR-753554 · COM(2023)0395 – C90309/2023 – 2023/0272(COD)
- Kind
- Report parliamentary committee draft ENVI-PR-753554
- Date
- 24 October 2023
- Committee
- Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety
- Rapporteur
- Marlene Mortler
- Dossier
- 2023-0272
More facts (3)
- Formats
- Official page PDF Word
- Subject matter
- ENV, SANT
- Reference
- COM(2023)0395 – C90309/2023 – 2023/0272(COD)
Text
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Jump to an amendment (6)
Draft european parliament legislative resolution
on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) 2017/852 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 May 2017 on mercury as regards dental amalgam and other mercury-added products subject to manufacturing, import and export restrictions
–having regard to Article 294(2) and Article 192(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, pursuant to which the Commission submitted the proposal to Parliament (C90309/2023),
–having regard to the report of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (A90000/2023),
2.Calls on the Commission to refer the matter to Parliament again if it replaces, substantially amends or intends to substantially amend its proposal;
3.Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council, the Commission and the national parliaments.
| Text proposed by the Commission | Amendment |
|---|---|
| (4a) Given the different dental practices and dentistry skills in the Member States, a short transitional period for the phase-out of dental amalgam is appropriate to allow for professional training of dentists so they are able to adjust to new techniques. Such a transitional period would also allow for the adjustment of national reimbursement systems in Member States where the variation of the price of materials used is high. |
| Text proposed by the Commission | Amendment |
|---|---|
| (4b) To limit the socio-economic impact of a shift to mercury-free fillings on the costs of dental care for patients and on dentists, Member States should endeavour to ensure that appropriate reimbursement is available for mercury-free alternatives. |
| Text proposed by the Commission | Amendment |
|---|---|
| (5a) The limited supply of dental amalgam due to the manufacturing prohibition in the Union could increase the costs for those patients who on account of their specific needs are dependent on amalgam-fillings. The Commission should therefore assess the impact of the manufacturing prohibition on such groups in a dedicated report in order to monitor the price developments and prevent further pressure on economically weak citizens. |
| Text proposed by the Commission | Amendment |
|---|---|
| 2a. From 1 January 2025, dental amalgam shall not be used for dental treatment of any member of the population, except when deemed strictly necessary by the dental practitioner based on the specific medical needs of the patient.; | 2a. From 1 January 2027, dental amalgam shall not be used for dental treatment of any member of the population, except when deemed strictly necessary by the dental practitioner based on the specific medical needs of the patient.; |
| Text proposed by the Commission | Amendment |
|---|---|
| 7. From 1 January 2025, the manufacture and export of dental amalgam shall be prohibited; | 7. From 1 January 2027, the manufacture and export of dental amalgam shall be prohibited; |
| Text proposed by the Commission | Amendment |
|---|---|
| (1a) In Article 19, the following paragraph is added: | |
| “3a. By 30 June 2025, the Commission shall report to the European Parliament and to the Council on the outcome of its assessment regarding the socio-economic impact on patients generally, patients dependent on amalgam-fillings and the impact on dentists of a shift to mercury-free fillings, and regarding the developments in healthcare reimbursement schemes. | |
| The Commission shall, where appropriate, propose measures, together with its report referred to in the first subparagraph.” |
Back matter, 2
Parts that accompany the text rather than belong to it: explanatory statement, annexes, opinions appended by other committees. Collapsed.
Explanatory statement 4 blocks
Extensive research has brought to light the impacts of mercury, making a ban on this substance in specific products a critical step in line with the Union's commitment to environmental protection and public health. While the market readily offers substitutes for certain mercury-added products like lamps, enabling their gradual phase-out, other products cannot be replaced as easily and need to be approached in a more differentiated manner as proposed by the European Commission.
Dental amalgam is still widely used in some Member States. Its complete ban would pose problems for specific patient groups. While there is a clear trend in dental medicine to move away from the use of dental amalgam and to prioritise the use of alternatives instead, the transition cannot be rushed. Appropriate transition periods must be granted in order for doctors to undergo necessary training and for the national health insurance schemes to adjust their reimbursement policies accordingly. On top of that, the ban of dental amalgam must not lead to further economic costs for vulnerable groups. To ensure the best service, doctors must be able to treat patients with specific medical needs with dental amalgam if strictly necessary. Therefore, in my report I support the European Commission’s approach on the exemption in extraordinary circumstances and suggest to slightly push the date of the ban of the use of amalgam back until 1 January 2027. This should allow all Member States and national health insurance schemes to adjust their frameworks appropriately.
I propose to change the date of the ban on the manufacture and export of amalgam to 1 January 2027 as well in order to ensure that the demand of dental amalgam during the transition period can be met.
Annex: list of entities or persons from whom the rapporteur has received input 2 blocks
The following list is drawn up on a purely voluntary basis under the exclusive responsibility of the rapporteur. The rapporteur has received input from the following entities or persons in the preparation of the draft report:
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Sources & citation
Where the facts on this page come from, and how to cite it.
- Data source
- Licensed CC BY 4.0.
- Retrieved
- 25 September 2026
Cite as
European Parliament (2023). “DRAFT REPORT on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) 2017/852 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 May 2017 on mercury as regards dental amalgam and other mercury-added products subject to manufacturing, import and export restrictions”. Text, 24 October 2023. docId ENVI-PR-753554. EU Parl Watch Research. https://news.eu-parl.st-solutions.dev/texts/ENVI-PR-753554 (retrieved 25 September 2026). Data: EP Open Data API: document record, https://data.europarl.europa.eu/api/v2/documents/ENVI-PR-753554 (CC BY 4.0).
BibTeX
@misc{epw-text-envi-pr-753554,
author = {{European Parliament}},
title = {{DRAFT REPORT on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) 2017/852 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 May 2017 on mercury as regards dental amalgam and other mercury-added products subject to manufacturing, import and export restrictions}},
year = {2023},
date = {2023-10-24},
howpublished = {\url{https://news.eu-parl.st-solutions.dev/texts/ENVI-PR-753554}},
url = {https://news.eu-parl.st-solutions.dev/texts/ENVI-PR-753554},
urldate = {2026-09-25},
publisher = {EU Parl Watch Research},
note = {Text. docId ENVI-PR-753554. Data: EP Open Data API: document record (CC BY 4.0)}
}