Press Release: Commission welcomes new global agreement to tackle mercury

The European Commission has welcomed the successful conclusion of the multilateral negotiations to address the global threat posed to human health and the environment by mercury.

This follows the decision of the Governing Council of UNEP in February 2009 to develop a global legally binding instrument on mercury and the subsequent creation of an International Negotiating Committee to conclude on the text of a mercury Treaty that held its final meeting in Geneva, 13-18 January 2013. The EU was a key driver for the launch of this negotiating process.