Brussels, 30/11/2006 (Agence Europe) - There seems to be light at the end of the tunnel for REACH, the proposed European regulation on registration, evaluation, authorisation and restriction of some 30,000 chemical substances, quantities of more than one tonne per year of which are already to be found on the European market, whether produced locally or imported. The call by Guido Sacconi (PES, Italy), the Parliament's principal rapporteur on REACH for a last chance compromise to be found as quickly as possible (see EUROPE 9316) seems to have been heard, to smooth the Parliament second reading in Strasbourg on 13 December.
The informal negotiations, suspended since 28 November, between the Parliament, the Commission and the Council to get the most complex and controversial text in European history out of the woods, have restarted, and this time, according to a source close the Parliament have a chance of succeeding. A sixth and last trilogue, planned for the evening of 30 November, is expected to formalise the terms of the overall compromise to resolve the final controversial points - particularly, the requirement that companies submit a substitution plan for the substances causing most concern, when there is a less harmful alternative.
If adopted by the plenary session on 13 December, this compromise would avoid the potential pitfalls of a conciliation procedure on a piece of legislation essential to protect public health and the environment against the dangers from chemical substances, without damaging European competitiveness. The three institutions have been working since October 2003 to find precisely this delicate balance. (an)