Brussels, 13/12/2005 (Agence Europe) - A great day for Europe. A victory for the EU, for consumers, for health and environment protection. It was in these glowing terms that the outgoing British Presidency, like the European Commission, hailed Tuesday's political agreement reached by the Competitiveness Council on the proposal for a REACH regulation on the registration, evaluation and restricted authorisation of chemical products. Meeting in extraordinary session, the 25 EU ministers kept the promise they had made on 28 November to achieve this result on the basis of an amended Presidency compromise (EUROPE 9078). The latest changes made were minor and mainly covered the procedure for authorising the chemical substances giving rise to most concern and the principle of substitution of such substances by safer alternatives - the cornerstone of the future regulation which, just a little while ago, was the bone of contention between delegations.
The political agreement reached by consensus covered the following elements: - dangerous substances (except for PBT - persistent, bioaccumulating and toxic substances , very persistent and very bioaccumulating, vPvB; and carcinogenic, mutagenic or reprotoxic substances, CMR) may be authorised if they are the subject of adequate controls and if the search for safer alternatives is encouraged. To this end, the requests for authorisation introduced by the manufacturer, importer or user upstream from the future European Chemical Products Agency (to be located in Helsinki) must contain not only a report on chemical safety but also an analysis of the replacement solutions examining the risks that they comprise as well as their technical and economic reliability.
Obligations incumbent upon producers or importers for risk assessment and the notion of adequate control governing their authorisation procedures would be revised by comitology procedure within 12 months following entry into force of the regulation (via revision of Annex I of REACH proposed by Commissioner Günter Verheugen to facilitate accession by the most reticent delegations to the principle of substitution, albeit diluted). Once granted, authorisation would be limited in time but its duration would be determined on a case by case basis. One is therefore far from the principle of compulsory substitution for all dangerous substances as less harmful substances exist on the market and the initial duration of authorisation is limited at 5 years as requested by the Parliament in first reading, with the support of the environment NGOs.
Ireland and Poland are the only countries to have openly declared that they do not support the Presidency compromise. Ireland above all considered that the authorisation procedure thus defined would create uncertainty for industry, even when the risks are kept under perfect control, and would question investment not only for the chemicals industry but also for semi-conductor manufacturers, for example. (Ireland above all considered that six months for the delay in which to notify substances contained in the articles was far too short). Poland states it fears the authorisation procedure and the incentive to substitution will erode competitiveness.
On the other hand, Denmark, Sweden and Luxembourg have submitted a declaration to the minutes of the session to deplore the fact that the Council has not gone far enough on the matter of substitution and in order to request that Member States be authorised to maintain their stricter national provisions so that the EU will not force them to review their respective legislation downward when it comes to the protection of workers and the environment.
Germany was able to bring about a change to the text for toxicity and ecotoxicity testing to be in line with good laboratory practice, but not in line with OECD standards. The addition of cement paving stones or “klinkers” in the list of products exempted from the scope of REACH is one of the other novelties of the British compromise which allowed the Council to reach a political agreement (although Spain would have liked to see ceramics also benefit from the exemption).
The delegations were unanimous in commending the British Presidency for the remarkable work accomplished allowing this positive outcome on the most complex legislation that the EU has ever had to deal with. It will be up to Coreper to put the final touches to the text to allow adoption of a common position under Austrian Presidency.
Outgoing President Alan Johnson, British Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, did not conceal his pleasure when addressing reporters. He said it was work that was well rounded off before Christmas and that it was a great day for Europe.
Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas said: “This agreement will represent a marked improvement in the protection of health and the environment. It will reduce chemical related disease and will allow users and consumers to make informed choices about the substances they come in contact with. It will also encourage innovation and give a strong incentive to industry to replace dangerous chemicals with safer ones. Today's agreement presents to our citizens a chance for a healthier life and a safer environment.” REACH will ensure that the gaps in existing information on the hazardous properties of some 30,000 chemicals are filled and that the necessary information on the safe use of substances is transmitted along the industrial supply chain leading to reduced risks for workers, for consumers, and for the environment. Highlighting the reduced burden on industry by reducing obligations for chemicals manufactured or imported in small quantities, sharing of information and reduction in animal testing, the President of the Council thanked the delegations, European Parliament and European Commission for working flat out on the text, which now looked like it might be successful.
Gunter Verheugen, Industry Commissioner, said the outcome was fully satisfactory and was a reasonable, robust compromise and a genuine improvement for the environment and consumer protection while ensuring the EU chemicals industry remained competitive. He was particularly pleased with the improvements to the legislation that will directly affect 27000 companies, 96% of which are SMEs. He said that SMEs had been the focus of European Commission concerns, expressing delight that it had been possible to decide on a targetted approach for chemicals manufactured or imported in volumes of between 1 and 10 tonnes a year.
Back from Canada, Stavros Dimas said: 'The political agreement today marks a major success for the health of our citizens an the environment. It follows the successful conclusion of the climate change conference in Montreal last Saturday, where the EU played a decisive role in giving the Kyoto Protocol a future. December has been an excellent month for the environment and proof of Europe's leadership in this field. The agreement on REACH makes this a good day for Europe. REACH will radically change way chemical legislation works. Over the coming years, information will become available on possible risks of about 30,000 substances that are currently on the market. This will provide companies, workers and consumers with the kind of information that will allow them to make informed choices about the use of chemicals. Moreover, we will be able to rigorously control dangerous substances and systematically encourage substitution where needed. REACH will reduce chemicals-related diseases, averting tens of thousands of cases of infertility, cancer, skin disease, neurological disorders and other illnesses… Over the last few months, I've often heard the phrase that 'if we can find a solution for REACH, we can find a solution for everything.''