Brussels, 31/08/2004 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday, German Christian Democrat Werner Langen again called for a new European Commission proposal for the REACH regulation concerning the registration, risk assessment and authorisation for chemical products in the European Union. The proposal, he stressed, should take greater account of the imperatives of European competitiveness, the international division of labour and the impact on small and medium-sized enterprises. (See EUROPE of 31 July, p.8, on the subject of the criticism expressed by the EP rapporteur on the issue, Hartmut Nassauer, who is also an elected CDU member). In a press release, Mr Langen describes as out of date a study by Arthur Little on the impact of the future legislation, which had just been presented to the Committee on Industry, mainly because, in the meanwhile, the initial European Commission proposal has been "fundamentally" modified. Furthermore, Mr Langen criticised MEPs who consider that the German chemicals industry should not be considered as a reference in this affair. "If we speak of the future of the wood industry in Europe, we must of course take into account the Finnish industry as a reference. But if we speak of the future of the European chemicals industry, Germany is an appropriate example", Mr Langen insists. (We recall that the distribution of portfolios in the Barroso Commission gives responsibility for the European Chemical Agency to Günter Verheughen - see EUROPE of 24 August, p.9).