On 22 September, the Council took note of a presentation by Commissioner Erkki Liikanen on the result of Commission’s Internet consultation on draft legislation aiming at overhauling and modernising the existing EU regulatory system for chemicals and welcomed the Commission’s intention to present its final proposal within short.
In May 2003, the Commission launched an eight-week Internet consultation on the draft legislation on chemicals, which aimed at replacing the over 40 different directives and regulations under current legislation.
The purpose of the Internet consultation was to test the workability of the proposals with stakeholders. The Commission has received some 6.400 replies, mainly from industry and environmental organisations.
The proposal that the Commission intends to adopt, develops a new system called REACH (Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals) for assessing the risks arising from the manufacture, import or use of chemicals. Special reduced registration requirements have been foreseen for polymers and intermediates. For the phasing-in of the new system, deadlines will be established for registration of substances that are already being manufactured.
The Commission is in favour of the establishment of an independent Agency which will be responsible for supporting the Commission with technical expertise and by running the IT infrastructure.
