Ref. Ares(2017)5015409 - 13/10/2017

EUROPEAN COMMISSION
DIRECTORATE-GENERAL HEALTH AND FOOD SAFETY
Public health, country knowledge, crisis management
DirectorLuxembourg,sante.ddg1.c.2(2017) 5635869
By electronic mailProfessor Rainer Nyberg
EdD, Professor emeritus
Vasa, Finland
NRNyberg@abo.fi
Professor Lennart Hardell
MD, PhD, oncologistÖrebro, Sweden
lennart.hardell@regionorebrolan.se

Dear Professor Nyberg,
Dear Professor Hardell,Subject: 5G Appeal - Scientists and doctors warn of potential serious health effects of 5G
Thank you for your e-mail of 13 September 2017 addressed to Commissioner Andriukaitis andfor drawing his attention to your concerns about the potential serious health effects of 5Gtechnology. The Commissioner has asked me to reply on his behalf.
It is worth underlining that for the Commission health protection is always taken into accountin all of its proposals. There is consistent evidence presented by national and international
bodies (International Commission on Non Ionising Radiation Protection - ICNIRP, ScientificCommittee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks - SCENIHR) that exposure toelectromagnetic fields does not represent a health risk, if it remains below the limits set byCouncil Recommendation 1999/519/EC1.
The legal framework established under the Radio Equipment Directive2 provides for the safetyof radio devices placed on the EU market. In addition to the national enforcement of the EUlaw, the Commission encourages research into effects of exposure to Electromagnetic fields
and periodically requests an independent update of the scientific evidence available. The
Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks, which is independent ofthe Commission, has a standing mandate to provide this update.

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https://ec.europa.eu/health//sites/health/files/electromagnetic_fields/docs/emf_rec519_en.pdf

Directive 2014/53/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 April 2014 on the harmonisationof the laws of the Member States relating to the making available on the market of radio equipment andrepealing Directive 1999/5/EC.

Commission européenne, L-2029 Luxembourg. Telephone: (352) 43 01-1

It has already produced five opinions. The last opinion3 was adopted in January 2015 on"Potential health effects of exposure to electromagnetic fields". These scientific opinions havenot provided any scientific justification for revising the exposure limits (basic restrictions andreference levels) under Council Recommendation 1999/519/EC.
The strict and safe exposure limits for electromagnetic fields recommended at EU level apply
for all frequency bands currently envisaged for 5G.
The Commission agrees that there is need for constant update of scientific knowledge, whichmust also be taken into account in the development of the 5G technology. Such knowledge willcontribute to the aim of balancing exposure of the general public to EMF with benefits broughtby 5G (including eHealth) to the quality of life.
Digital technologies and mobile communication technologies, including high speed internet,
will be the backbone of Europe's future economy, allowing all citizens to be connected. At thesame time, all citizens deserve appropriate protection against electromagnetic fields from alltypes of sources including from wireless devices. The Commission has therefore been
following this issue closely so as to stick to the appropriate protection levels defined by worldexperts. The number of sources as such does not determine the electromagnetic fields exposure
at a given location. Most 5G networks are expected to use smaller cells than previous
generations with lower electromagnetic fields exposure levels. This is confirmed by theexperience so far gained. The introduction of 3G and 4G has not increased exposure fromenvironmental fields and this has been published also in peer-reviewed journals. In particular,
the introduction of 3G has lowered exposure of mobile phone users for calls, compared to 2G.
EU regulation is to ensure consistency and predictability throughout the Union regarding theway the use of radio spectrum is authorised in protecting public health against harmful
electromagnetic fields (0 Hz- 300 GHz), having particular regard to the precautionary approachtaken in Council Recommendation No 1999/519/EC.
Furthermore, the proposal for a European Code for Electronic Communications4, which will
pave the way for 5G mobile communications, and which is currently debated in Council andParliament, sets as a principle for spectrum management to be applied by Member States theneed for consistency and predictability throughout the Union regarding the way the use ofradio spectrum is authorised in protecting public health against harmful electromagnetic fields.
The existing framework also allows Member States to restrict the use of types of technologies
where necessary to protect public health against electromagnetic fields taking utmost accountof the Council Recommendation 1999/519/EC.
Related to the issue of the alleged conflicts of interests, the Commission is not aware of any
conflicts of interests of members of international bodies such as ICNIRP or the members ofSCENIHR. Please be informed that the Ombudsman conclusion in case 208/2015/PD5concerning conflicts of interests in a Commission expert group on electromagnetic fields is that
there was no maladministration by the European Commission.

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https://ec.europa.eu/health/scientific_committees/emerging/docs/scenihr_o_041.pdf
https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/news/proposed-directive-establishing-european-electronic-communicationscodehttps://www.ombudsman.europa.eu/en/cases/decision.faces/en/78175/html.bookmark
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Please be assured that the Commission will pursue scrutiny of the independent scientificevidence available to ensure the highest health protection of our citizens.
Yours sincerely,John F. RyanDirector3
Electronically signed on 12/10/2017 10:02 (UTC+02) in accordance with article 4.2 (Validity of electronic documents) of Commission Decision 2004/563