Brussels, 14/10/2005 (Agence Europe) - The future European policy on the registration, evaluation and limited authorisation of chemical products (REACH), and the next steps in the global strategy to fight climate change will, once again, call the attention of the environment ministers, meeting in Luxembourg on 17 October. The importance of the debate on these two dossiers will be in proportion to the imminence of decisive deadlines: the UK Presidency is particularly committed to ensuring that international negotiations kick off in Montréal at the end of November on stepping up efforts to get as many countries on board as possible to fight global warming after 2012, and that the Council of the EU is able to reach a political agreement on a well-balanced proposed REACH regulation, which will serve as a guarantor for the protection of public health and the environment, without harming Europe's competitiveness. Margaret Beckett, British Secretary of State for the environment, food and rural development, who is to chair the world, will concentrate on these objectives.
The Commission's "Better Regulation" initiative, viewed from an environmental perspective, will be the object of a debate open to the public, and is set to mark another major priority of the session, to which Karl-Heinz Florenz, German Christian Democrat and president of the committee on the environment of the European Parliament, will be invited. Stavros Dimas, Commissioner for the Environment, will represent the Commission. Here are the outlines of the Council's agenda:
Chemical products: the Council will hold an exploratory debate on the compromise put forward in September by the UK Presidency on the proposed REACH regulation of October 2003, to increase the efficiency of this new system and bring down the costs to industry (EUROPE 9046). The ministers for competition will hold a debate on this, which will focus on the procedure by which chemical substances are registered (EUROPE 9046). On Monday, the environment ministers will take the last opportunity available to them to express their preferences on the best way of preserving the objectives of environmental protection and public health targeted by REACH. The objective is to facilitate the adoption of the broadest possible political agreement at the Competitiveness Council of 28-29 November, once the first-reading opinion of the European Parliament, which is anticipated for mid-November, has been made known. The ministers, steered by the Presidency, are invited to respond to the following questions: 1. Does the compromise which is on the table take sufficient account of health and environmental concerns? 2. Is the solution proposed to clarify requirements applicable for chemicals contained in finished products acceptable? If not, what changes should be made to it? Should the obligation to notify potentially dangerous substances within products relate solely to substances which present serious concern, or should it take account of actual exposure of the substances to people and the environment? It is worth noting that under the compromise submitted by the Presidency, substances contained in products and designed to be released into the atmosphere will all be subject to the registration obligation. As for substances contained on imported products or included in a use which was not provided for by the initial registration, European producers and importers would be obliged to notify the authorities only if the product contains a subject which could be of serious concern above a certain minimum concentration, whether or not the substance is likely to be released into the atmosphere.
Climate change: the Council will hold a debate and adopt conclusions on the position the EU will defend at the 11th Conference of the Parties to the Framework Convention on the United Nations on climate change (COP11), which is to be held in Montréal from 20 November to 9 December and will coincide with the first conference of the parties to the Kyoto protocol (COP/MOP1).
"Better Regulation": the Council will hold a public debate, and will continue the discussion over lunch, with Karl Heinz Florenz, on ways of making the seven thematic strategies of the EU in the field of the environment, which are awaited for the end of the year, into privileged tools to implement better regulation, in line with the Commission's objectives. The debate will focus on assessments of the impact of legislative proposals, other available instruments (screening, consultation, syndication, monitoring and follow-up reports), and the contribution of better regulation to including environmental concerns in all EU sectorial policies.