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Drugmakers are preparing to sue the EU over a new tax to pay to clean up polluted waste water, arguing other industries should also have to foot the bill.
制药商正准备就欧盟为清理污染废水而征收的新税费提起诉讼,认为其他行业也应为此买单。
The new rule, which came into force at the start of the year, requires the pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries to pay at least 80 per cent of the cost of removing pollutants such as microplastics and chemicals from urban waste water.
这项新规定于今年年初生效,要求制药和化妆品行业为清除城市污水中的微塑料和化学品等污染物支付至少80%的费用。
The European Commission has estimated the cost at about €1.2bn a year, but the German environment agency suggested it could cost up to €1.25bn to improve wastewater treatment in Germany alone.
欧盟委员会估计每年的成本约为12亿欧元,但德国环境机构表示,仅在德国改善废水处理就可能需要12.5亿欧元。
The directive targets household waste water that has been polluted by medicines excreted in urine or by washed-off cosmetics, rather than factory waste water. It aims to protect health and the environment from the effects of such micropollutants, directing towns and cities across the bloc to remove them using an advanced process known as “quaternary treatment”.
该指令针对的是被尿液中排出的药物或被冲洗掉的化妆品污染的家庭废水,而不是工厂废水。该指令旨在保护健康和环境免受此类微污染物的影响,指导欧盟内的城镇使用一种被称为“四级处理”的先进工艺去除这些微污染物。
But the pharma industry lobby group is preparing a lawsuit that will argue that the directive breaks EU treaties on proportionality, non-discrimination and the principle of “polluter pays”, given other industries also contribute to pollutants in the water.
但制药业游说团体正准备提起诉讼,认为该指令违反了欧盟关于相称性、非歧视和“谁污染谁付费”原则的条约,因为其他行业也会造成水中的污染物。
The list of micropollutants the EU is targeting also includes plastics, pesticides, artificial sweeteners and illegal drugs.
欧盟针对的微污染物清单还包括塑料、杀虫剂、人造甜味剂和非法药物。
Nathalie Moll, director-general of the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations, said the organisation did not know why the EU has decided to target two sectors when others also contributed to the problem.
欧洲制药工业和协会联合会总干事娜塔莉•莫尔(Nathalie Moll)说,该组织不知道为什么欧盟决定针对这两个行业,而其他行业也造成了同一问题。
“We are looking for a fair share of the costs being paid by all the polluting industries,” she said, adding this would not only share the financial burden, but create incentives for everyone to produce more sustainable products.
她说,“我们希望所有污染行业都能公平地分担成本,”她补充说,“这不仅能分担财政负担,还能激励每个人生产更具可持续性的产品。”
“Our industry supports the ambition of the legislation and is 100 per cent committed to paying its fair share,” she added.
她补充道:“我们的行业支持这项立法的雄心,并百分之百致力于支付其公平份额。”
The European Commission said: “Cosmetic and pharmaceutical residues represent the main sources of persistent micropollutants, mainly stemming from households, found in urban wastewater. Without the residues of these two sectors, there would not be a need for additional, quaternary treatment in urban wastewater facilities.”
欧盟委员会说:“化妆品和药品残留物是城市污水中持久性微污染物的主要来源,主要来自家庭。如果没有这两个行业的残留物,城市污水设施就没有必要进行额外的四级处理。”
It added that the system was “proportionate” and that it expects exemptions for smaller and medium companies with only limited sales in Europe or products that do not pollute.
它还补充说,该系统是“适度的”,它预期,在欧洲销售有限的中小型公司或不造成污染的产品能够获得豁免。
The updated directive comes as drugmakers push back against EU measures that could reduce the length of drug patents, as part of a major overhaul of industry regulation. They are also increasingly worried about the risk of tariffs on imports into the US, the industry’s largest and most profitable market.
更新后的指令出台之际,制药商正在抵制欧盟可能缩短药品专利期限的措施,这是行业监管重大改革的一部分。他们也越来越担心对输美商品征收关税的风险,美国是该行业最大、利润最高的市场。
Several EU member states, including Bulgaria and the Czech Republic, have written to the Council of the European Union to express concern about the impact of the new waste water rule on drug prices, in case the industry passes on the costs to consumers and healthcare systems.
包括保加利亚和捷克共和国在内的几个欧盟成员国已致函欧盟理事会,对新的废水规定对药品价格的影响表示关切,以防该行业将成本转嫁给消费者和医疗保健系统。