On Tuesday 1 July, the European Ombudsman, Teresa Anjinho, closed her enquiry into the European Commission’s excessively long authorisation times for applications from companies to authorise hazardous chemicals.
The EU’s supervisory body found that the European Commission had failed to remedy delays in the authorisation procedure for the REACH (Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals) regulation, despite its procedure (see EUROPE 13469/2).
Despite the “14.5 months [taken] to prepare the draft decisions” when the legal deadline is three months, the Commission “did not address the Ombudsman’s recommendation to review its lengthy internal procedures (...), or ensure that applications containing insufficient information are promptly dismissed, so that the companies that have submitted those applications can no longer use the dangerous substances in the EU”, said the Ombudsman. She therefore decided to maintain her finding of maladministration.
She points out that these delays can have consequences for public health and the environment - insofar as dangerous substances continue to be used until a decision has been taken - but also for businesses, which need clarity.
As the decision-making process was not sufficiently transparent, according to the Ombudsman, the Commission agreed to publish “more meaningful summary records of the meetings of the REACH Committee”.
To date, the Ombudsman considers that the Commission should “do its utmost to present a clear plan of how to address the delays” and that new measures will have to be implemented to meet the objectives of the REACH regulation, the revision of which is due to be proposed by the end of 2025. (Original version in French by Florent Servia)