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The New EU Chemicals
Legislation – REACH
On 29 October 2003, the European Commission
adopted a proposal for a new EU regulatory framework for chemicals,
COM (2003) 644. Under the
proposed new system called REACH (Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation
of CHemicals), enterprises that manufacture or import more than one tonne
of a chemical substance per year would be required to register it in a central
database.
The aims of the proposed new Regulation are to improve the protection
of human health and the environment while maintaining the competitiveness and
enhancing the innovative capability of the EU chemicals industry. REACH would
furthermore give greater responsibility to industry to manage the risks from
chemicals and to provide safety information on the substances. This information
would be passed down the chain of production.
The proposal has been drafted in
close consultation with all interested parties, including an Internet consultation.
This has allowed the Commission to propose a streamlined and cost-effective
system. The proposal is now being considered by the European Parliament and the
Council of the EU for adoption under the so-called co-decision procedure.
The first reading in the European Parliament took place on 17 November 2005
(Provisional amendments (2005) 0434 and
(2005) 0435) and the political agreement in the European Council on 13
December 2005 (REACH, Council text
and Directive 67/548/EEC, Council text). After a final adoption of the REACH legislation, which is
expected by the end of 2006, it can be estimated that the entry into force
of the REACH-legislation will be around April 2007. The new European Chemicals Agency has to be fully
operational 12 months after entry into force of the legislation.
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