Brussels, 18/12/2006 (Agence Europe) - The REACH regulation on the registration, evaluation, and authorisation of chemical substances in the EU has been adopted. The last Environment Council under Finnish Presidency, in Brussels on 18 December, formally adopted, by qualified majority, the text as amended by the European Parliament on 13 December (see EUROPE 9327). Poland submitted a statement to be included in the minutes of the meeting, expressing its concern over the implications of this new legislation for the competitiveness of its national chemical industry.
The regulation, which will repeal some forty European directives, could be published in the Official Journal before 31 December and come into effect on 1st June 2007. This date will be the starting point for the registration of some 30,000 chemical substances on the market, a process to be spread over eleven years, with a very strict authorisation procedure for the most dangerous (roughly 1,500) and the requirement on producers to work towards replacement of toxic substances with other safer alternatives.
Jan Erik Enestam, the Finnish environment minister who chaired the Council welcomed the conclusion of this long-term exercise, which began eight years ago.
According to the president, the compromise is a balanced one. It will considerably improve the protection and safety of the environment. It will also provide new safety requirements and will make Europe a pioneer when it comes to protecting against chemical substances. Thanking the Member States and the Commission for the very active part they have played in this success, and expressing his gratitude to the Parliament rapporteurs, he went on to add: “We should ensure that REACH implementation is a success for Europe, for its industries and consumers. The chemical products agency, to be created in Helsinki, will have a decisive role to play in implementation. It will be operational from 1 June 2007 to reach cruising speed with full staff in the next few years. I extend Helsinki's welcome to the scientific experts”.
Stavros Dimas, Environment Commissioner, welcomed the fact that the EU is able to “celebrate the birth of a new approach for assessing the risk of chemical damage and cross-border contamination”. REACH will be very far-reaching, not only for industry but also for all citizens, both directly and indirectly, the Commissioner stressed, delighted that the text encourages the gradual substitution of the most dangerous substances, takes the most vulnerable populations into account - for example, pregnant women, the elderly and old and children - and encourages R&D investment, given that the chemicals industry has hitherto been lagging behind with regard to innovation.
The text was officially signed the same day at the European Parliament by Matti Vanhanen, Finnish Prime Minister, and Josep Borrell, EP President. (an)