‘Most successful yet’ meetings for NAFD European Liaison Group

On November 16 the NAFD European Liaison Group enjoyed its most successful yet visit to Brussels, when delegates met with Members of the European Parliament and key advisors to identify problems with and seek changes to existing European legislation. They also worked to establish an early warning mechanism which would prevent the introduction of future legislation that would impact adversely on UK funeral directors.

NAFD chief executive officer Alan Slater was accompanied by Nigel Lymn Rose, Adrian Haler and Christopher Henley and their meeting with Malcolm Harbour MEP, who has taken a keen interest in the funeral sector over the years, was especially productive. Mr Harbour chairs the influential Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee and is committed to more open and deregulated markets. Through the Services Directive – his biggest achievement to date – more than 100 measures have been implemented which have opened up market opportunities and cut bureaucracy, allowing companies and consumers across Europe to benefit from competition and choice within services. Mr Harbour outlined a series of steps the NAFD should now pursue to eradicate inconsistencies and unnecessary red tape encountered by NAFD members when operating in the EU.

Alan Slater said: “We will compile a dossier of any restrictions in trade or hindrances to the free movement of goods, services and employees faced by our sector, which will then be submitted to relevant Member States. They will need to prove that the practices they employ can be justified, and if they can’t be justified the EU Commission will require the Member State to remove them.”

Among the practices already identified are:

• the prevention of embalmers, qualified with a British Institute of Embalmers’ Diploma, from operating in France, Italy and Spain
• the requirement for zinc-lined coffins by Italian authorities for the repatriation of human remains from an EU Member State back to Italy
• the lack of uniformity for coffins in the EU, which forces UK funeral directors to require a new coffin to be used when repatriated remains require cremation. This is for health and safety reasons due to the danger of flashback from varnish used on some coffins. There are also concerns about the environmental impact of cremating coffins if the materials used in their manufacture are unknown
• apparent trade restrictions on the sale of British eco-coffins in some EU Member States

The NAFD European Liaison Group also met individually with three members of the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety Committee – Marina Yannakoudakis MEP, one of three Conservative MEPs for London and the European Parliament’s contact point for the European Centre for Disease Control (ECDC) in Stockholm; Chris Davies MEP, representative for the North West of England in the European Parliament since 1999 and the Liberal Democrat environment spokesman in Brussels throughout this time; and Julie Girling MEP, who represents the South West of England and Gibraltar and takes a keen interest in environmental matters.

The NAFD delegation discussed the Biocides Directive and the impact it could have on the UK funeral sector with all three MEPs and while the campaign to allow funeral directors to continue to use Formaldehyde for embalming looks to have a positive outcome, the future use of Paraformaldehyde in disaster management and recovery remains at risk.

One option the NAFD delegates discussed – and which the MEPs offered to explore – was the introduction of a derogation for Paraformaldehyde. This is a special provision in a Directive that allows it to be applied to particular groups of people or organisations in different ways. Although a derogation is not an exemption as such, it usually permits greater flexibility in the application of the law to take into account special circumstances.

To conclude its briefings the NAFD European Liaison Group met with Stephen O’Donnell, Chief of Staff to Catherine Stihler MEP and Liz Lynne MEP. Ms Stihler is a Labour Member of the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee, elected in 1999 as the youngest British MEP in the European Parliament, and is one of two MEPs representing Scotland. Ms Lynne has been the Lib Dem MEP for the West Midlands since 1999 and is vice chair of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs. She outlined European employment legislation that may impact on the sector and agreed to liaise with the NAFD and to seek the Association’s views on employment legislation currently in the pipeline.

“This was definitely our most successful series of meetings to date with MEPs and key advisors,” said Alan Slater.

“The NAFD’s efforts are really starting to pay dividends now, with MEPs offering to table Parliamentary Questions and to raise our concerns with EU Commissioners. Crucially, we are now getting advanced notice of future legislation and an opportunity to provide our comments at a much earlier stage in the legislative process.”