Marianne VIND

What Marianne VIND has said (16)

• 2026-03-09 “E-000967/2026 Answer given by Executive Vice-President Mînzatu on behalf of the European Commission The process of setting occupational exposure limits (OEL) is set out in Directive 2004/37/EC 1 . Directive 2019/983 2 sets an occupational exposure limit for formaldehyde of 0.3 ppm (parts per million). This was based on a comprehensive evidence-based process which also took into account the views of national authorities and representatives of the employers and workers. The selection of the substances for which to possibly set new or review existing OELs includes a broad consultative approach within the tripartite Advisory Committee on Safety and Health at Work (ACSH), which includes national authorities and social partners. The ACSH regularly provides the Commission with advice for the priority chemicals for which they recommend an OEL, informing the policy-making process. This advice is provided based on the availability of new science and data as brought to the attention of the ACSH working party on ‘Chemicals at the Workplace’ (WPC). The WPC is discussing a possible updated list of chemicals for which they would advise the Commission on setting new or revising existing OEL values. Such an update is expected by mid-2026. The process of setting OELs is evidence-based. It relies on a broad consultation of stakeholders and on the scientific assessment of evidence by independent experts in the risk assessment committee of the European Chemicals Agency. Moreover, the Regulation on Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) 3 restricts formaldehyde emissions into indoor air to protect consumers 4 . 1 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2004/37/oj/eng. 2 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?qid=1576669202273&uri=CELEX%3A32019L0983. 3 OJ L 396, 30.12.2006, p. 1 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legalcontent/EN/TXT/?uri=OJ%3AL%3A2006%3A396%3ATOC. 4 Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/1464 of 14 July 2023 amending Annex XVII to Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards formaldehyde and formaldehyde releasers https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/FR/ALL/?uri=CELEX:32023R1464.”
  EU rules on hazardous working conditions
• 2025-09-24 “E-003708/2025 Answer given by Executive Vice-President Virkkunen on behalf of the European Commission The Digital Services Act 1 (DSA) provides for transparency and a clear accountability framework for intermediary services providers, including online platforms. As the provider of an online platform, DanCenter is required to comply with all due diligence obligations under the DSA which are applicable to such providers, such as transparent terms and conditions, providing for information on the redress possibilities and implementing notice and action mechanisms for illegal content. As DanCenter is already established within the EU (Denmark), it is not required to designate a legal representative in the EU 2 . As neither OYO Vacation Homes nor DanCenter have been designated as very large online platforms by the Commission, the Member State in which the main establishment of the provider is located is exclusively competent to supervise and enforce the DSA, i.e. Denmark which has designated its Digital Services Coordinator the Danish Agency for Digital Government 3 . The Commission does not have direct enforcement powers to address potential consumer law infringements. In the case of suspected widespread infringements of consumer law, national consumer authorities can coordinate their enforcement response through the cooperation mechanism established under the Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) Regulation 4 . The network of national consumer authorities (CPC Network) already conducted actions against companies operating in the accommodation sector. Since then, CPC authorities have been monitoring this sector 5 . 1 Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 October 2022 on a Single Market For Digital Services and amending Directive 2000/31/EC (Digital Services Act) https://eurlex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2022/2065/oj/eng. 2 Article 13 of the DSA https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2022/2065/oj/eng. 3 Agency for Digital Government https://en.digst.dk/. 4 egulation (EU) 2017/2394 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2017 on cooperation between national authorities responsible for the enforcement of consumer protection laws and repealing Regulation (EC) No 2006/2004 (Text with EEA relevance) https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2017/2394/oj/eng. 5 Accommodation booking https://commission.europa.eu/live-work-travel-eu/consumer-rights-andcomplaints/enforcement-consumer-protection/coordinated-actions/accommodation-booking_en.”
  EU rules on digital competition · Liability for online marketplaces
• 2025-04-30 “E-001752/2025 Answer given by Mr Várhelyi on behalf of the European Commission 1. Current EU legislation on the protection of animals during transport 1 requires Member States to impose penalties if necessary. An overview of their enforcement actions is regularly made publicly available by Member States, but this information is not detailed enough for the Commission to identify specific cases, such as penalties imposed following the notification of infringement through a journey log. 2. According to the Official Controls Regulation (OCR) 2 , it is the responsibility of Member States to take the appropriate actions in the event of non-compliances established by their risk-based controls, including controls of journey logs submitted within one month after the journey concerned has been completed. In the case of a non-compliance that concerns more than one Member State, the OCR contains detailed rules and procedures for administrative assistance and cooperation, which require, among others, to inform the competent authority of the Member State concerned 3 . The Commission has recently launched a Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (iRASFF) animal welfare module, which constitutes the IT tool that Member States must use to implement certain provisions of the OCR on administrative assistance and cooperation 4 . Filing a non-compliance in this module requires the notified Member States to take certain obligatory actions 5 , including actions to ensure compliance with the rules on the protection of animals during transport. 3. In its proposal for a Regulation on the protection of animals during transport, the Commission introduces a new approach to harmonise sanctions in case of infringements of the rules on animal transport 6 . The debate is ongoing. The Commission remains open to work with the co-legislators in this area. 1 Council Regulation (EC) No 1/2005 of 22 December 2004 on the protection of animals during transport and related operations, OJ L 3, 5.1.2005, p. 1-44. 2 Regulation (EU) 2017/625 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 March 2017 on official controls and other official activities performed to ensure the application of food and feed law, rules on animal health and welfare, plant health and plant protection products (Official Controls Regulation), OJ L 95, 7.4.2017, p. 1-142. 3 See in particular Title IV of the Official Controls Regulation. 4 In particular, Articles 105 and 106 of the Official Controls Regulation. 5 Article 50 of Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 January 2002 laying down the general principles and requirements of food law, establishing the European Food Safety Authority and laying down procedures in matters of food safety and Articles 102 to 108 of Regulation (EU) 2017/625. 6 Chapter IX ‘Sanctions’, Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the protection of animals during transport and related operations, COM/2023/770 final.”
  EU requirements on animal welfare for farmers
• “Thank you very much. I have a question. What countries have not started this work? The implementation has to take place by the summer very soon. That's my first question and my second question. This tool looks incredibly promising and fantastic. Will it be able to solve the problems we have? Because many people are told at their job that their pay is based on their competence, and that's based on their skills locally. And all leaders will be biased if they don't have this efficient self sufficient knowledge. Many leaders and managers out there are not trained. They don't know know enough about management, but they may have a bias since they were small. They were taught automatically to think that men are worth more than women. Boys are worth more than girls. So it can be very hard for managers to start to think differently. So this idea that our pay is based on our skills and competencies, will we solve that problem with this proposal? Thank you.”
  Gender pay transparency
• “Thank you very much. Chairman. Commissioner. Minister. Competitiveness is the big topic that everyone is talking about and it is important. But it's not true that Europe will be stronger if we deregulate. No, on the contrary. Good companies good need good clear rules. Otherwise they will won't be able to focus on what's right for society. We need to build on competitiveness. And if people have good jobs, if they're able to be more productive and more innovative and they have money for their families. That's what matters. And that will benefit the whole of the economy. And across Europe, in many parts of Europe, there aren't enough jobs. So it's silly to destroy people with stress and bad working conditions. That doesn't make sense. Our strength in the European Union is the labour market, and if people have a good salary, they have security in their job. They can be in innovative. Thank you.”
  Minimum wages harmonisation at EU level
• “Thank you. And thank you so much for all of you to come here today and tell us about your experiences. They are incredibly important, and they are also tough to listen to because no one should die or get seriously ill from going to work. I will continue on Danish. Asbestos.”
  EU rules on hazardous working conditions
• “Asbestos is still a huge threat and we still don't have a directive for screening of buildings for asbestos. This is essential for manual workers that are going to be doing work in the building, and for firefighters who have to enter the building to put out a fire. Climate change means not only that there will be more fires, but there will also be more workers working in extreme heat and extreme weather conditions. You need access to water, power protection, sun cream shade and those that are working with floods that come about as a result of climate change are not vaccinated against hepatitis. This is unacceptable. Often it's young people who start their working lives in that way. Nurses are expected exposed to poisonous smoke, chemical substances and that as well against x rays. And these are things that we must take seriously. Vision zero and agriculture are two sides of the same coin. We should not provide aid to farmers who don't provide these protections. The Commission needs to deliver on this. It's my birthday today, in fact, and I'm hoping to get a really excellent, uh, birthday present with this, uh, quality roadmap.”
  EU rules on hazardous working conditions
• “Thank you. President. Commissioner. Nobody should die because they go to work. It might sound banal, but unfortunately we have to say that you go to work in the morning, you do what you have to do, you come home. But unfortunately, that isn't the case for everybody every day. Nine people in the EU don't come home to their family after work. Also in Denmark this year already. We've seen how badly it can go. A farmer was crushed by his tractor. A driver who was crushed between his vehicle and a concrete. A mechanic mechanic who was exposed to dangerous substances. And somebody run down by a reversing vehicle. A policeman killed on the motorway. These are just examples. But unfortunately this happens in in normal working situations. And many of them could have been prevented. Safety only becomes important when things have already happened. And that's wrong. We need to have a security culture. Safety culture. And that's the responsibility of employers. We also have a duty to look after those who are most exposed. We, its foreign employees, its platform workers, people who are in dangerous sectors and we should be aware of new problems AI, climate change, extreme heat, new ways of working. That. Deserves a response from the EU. Bad working environments cost lives and. It also is expensive for society. In Denmark, about 50 billion crowns a year is the cost. So to be honest, what are we waiting for? People should be able to go to work without putting their lives at risk. I hope that the Commission will continue to work on that. Thank you.”
  EU rules on hazardous working conditions
• “Li Li when I was five, the EU made rules about equal pay for equal work. But 50 years have passed and I've grown up somewhat in this time. But women are still earning less than men and we know the causes for this pay gap. But the argumentation has changed. Now we hear talk of a war in the Middle East and an unfair situation for women who are working their whole of their lives, for their families. And people want to roll back these rules. This is a very important tool for equal pay. We've had 50 years to ensure equal pay, and it hasn't happened. This is an issue of equality and we can't wait another 50 years. Dear colleagues, if we don't take up this tool, then I don't know what you want to do in order to improve this situation. Thank you.”
  Gender pay transparency
• “Thank you very much, chairman. I'm a trade unionist. I'm a social democrat. You may imagine that I want to take up the cause of people who are not being paid or the workers. But actually, I want to talk about businesses, because when we talk about subcontracting, we're not just talking about protecting workers. We're also talking about protecting the businesses that do respect the rules. So many of them are blocked or edged out of the market, because other who don't follow the rules and have suspicious or dark business models are pushing them out. So we have to celebrate those companies who are working for quality, for example, where interns have a contract. But how can these companies go forward where fraud and social dumping seems to be profitable? It as a society, do we want companies who are cheating the system, these big companies who oppress workers? Or do we want to encourage a different model which is responsible and does things according to the rules?”
  EU policy on labour exploitation in global supply chains
• “Thank you sir. Some new dental hospitals. Madam president, in the 1990s, We know that there was a high levels of unemployment back then. I packed my suitcase and went to Norway and I went to work in the health system. However, I got pneumonia and then I didn't have any health insurance, and I found myself unable to be treated. A lot of people in Europe have an everyday life like that. They they get ill, and that illness is poverty and the working poor. What they earn is not enough to get housing, food and basic necessities. This is a market that is not functioning properly. We have to ensure that there are good working conditions for all so that you can live on what you earn and get a pension that you can live on.”
  Minimum wages harmonisation at EU level
• “Thank you so much. I will speak in Danish.: I was, uh, in a visit to Copenhagen in May with three other colleagues. And over the last ten years, the Copenhagen uh Kommune has. Recorded a lot of fraud and illegalities in their public procurement practices. If we look at the companies involved. 95% of the cases. Uh, this is, uh, first degree, uh, subcontracting or lower, which means that this involves all of our society. It involves the whole of the labor world. What those of us who pay taxes, uh, should ensure that this is used for health of workers as well. Not just unfair competition, but we need fair, fair conditions and welfare for all. That means that we cannot accept, uh. This race for the bottom, where there are 5 or 10 degrees of subcontracting. We must set a limit to two levels. Thank you.”
  Anti-money laundering regulation
• “Li Li when I was five, the EU made rules about equal pay for equal work. But 50 years have passed and I've grown up somewhat in this time. But women are still earning less than men and we know the causes for this pay gap. But the argumentation has changed. Now we hear talk of a war in the Middle East and an unfair situation for women who are working their whole of their lives, for their families. And people want to roll back these rules. This is a very important tool for equal pay. We've had 50 years to ensure equal pay, and it hasn't happened. This is an issue of equality and we can't wait another 50 years. Dear colleagues, if we don't take up this tool, then I don't know what you want to do in order to improve this situation. Thank you.”
  Gender pay transparency
• “Li Li when I was five, the EU made rules about equal pay for equal work. But 50 years have passed and I've grown up somewhat in this time. But women are still earning less than men and we know the causes for this pay gap. But the argumentation has changed. Now we hear talk of a war in the Middle East and an unfair situation for women who are working their whole of their lives, for their families. And people want to roll back these rules. This is a very important tool for equal pay. We've had 50 years to ensure equal pay, and it hasn't happened. This is an issue of equality and we can't wait another 50 years. Dear colleagues, if we don't take up this tool, then I don't know what you want to do in order to improve this situation. Thank you.”
  Gender pay transparency
• “Thank you chair. That all every year hundreds of thousands of Europeans receive a message that turns their lives into a living nightmare. You have cancer. Your loved one has cancer. Your colleague has cancer. We know what the causes are. But even now, in 2026, we have still not solved the problems related to occupational health and safety. And it's a tragedy for every single family that receives such a message. Cancer is still one of the biggest killers on the job in Europe. Every year, about 100,000 people die from cancer because of their jobs. And that's not fate. It's it's caused by dust, fibers, smoke and chemicals that could have been avoided. We have the data now. We need to start applying pressure in order to get stricter requirements on the many dangerous substances used in European places of work. We need to strengthen our control of the working environment because we owe it to the European families. No one should get cancer.”
  EU rules on hazardous working conditions
• “Thank you, Thier. The current framework on health and safety at work has set important directions. Serotolerance and world related deaths was the right ambition. Now the strategy is coming to an end, but we are far from the finish line. In 2023, almost 3300 died in workplace accidents in The EU. So the next strategy must give us real tools, 1 where management takes responsibility before the accident happens, not after. And we need stronger labor inspections across EU so companies should not compete on poor working conditions. At the same time, AI and algorithm management can turn up the speed and pressure and take control away from workers. We already know that mental health at work and stress are huge problems across Europe. We know it in the last tragedy too. So now it is time to move from awareness to rules. As William Cockburn also mentioned, this is the biggest cause of lost working days. So it is also expensive for the employers. Earlier today, I met with frontline workers who told me about being shouted, spitting, and worse just for doing their job. What do we think that does to a person if we are serious about making progress when the Commission should start on a directive on the prevention of psychosocial risk at work? Mister Olsson already mentioned the Quality Act Job Act. So I'm very curious to hear you elaborate on this and whether psychosocial risk will be included. Thank you.”
  EU rules on hazardous working conditions