Source: European Parliament
Question for written answer E-002329/2025
to the Commission
Rule 144
Michalis Hadjipantela (PPE)
The EU’s Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Directive (89/654/EEC), establishing minimum safety requirements for workplaces, has remained unchanged since 1989. However, the work environment and its risks have continued to change since then, with heart disease fatalities related to long working hours seeing a rise of 41 %. It is thus crucial to mitigate the risks associated with health emergencies, such as sudden cardiac arrests.
EU legislation can be updated to address this risk by improving access to cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training and automated external defibrillators (AEDs). By improving workers’ abilities to respond to medical emergencies, the EU can promote a culture of preparedness within the workplace and beyond.
In this context:
- 1.Does the Commission intend to revise the OSH Directive to include mandatory CPR training and the availability of AEDs in workplaces, ensuring a harmonised approach to emergency preparedness across the Member States?
- 2.How does the Commission intend to integrate the Council conclusions on the improvement of cardiovascular health in the EU into occupational health and safety legislation, given the Council’s focus on making AEDs publicly available and ensuring that individuals are properly trained to use them?
- 3.Can the Commission fund the purchase of AEDs to be used in public schools, workplaces and similar high-capacity environments?
Submitted: 11.6.2025