Back
Commission sticks boot into REACH
Revealed: the shameful paper that member states are being asked to back
BRUSSELS Member states experts were taken by surprise this week when the European Commission presented an
unworkable attempt to achieve a 'compromise' on the EU chemicals legislation, REACH [1]. Shortly before decisive votes
on REACH in Parliament and Council, the Commission seems to be giving way to the pressure of polluting industry by
radically watering down its own proposal.
The document presented, and obtained by Greenpeace, shows that the Commission is suggesting changes to the
proposal that would slash safety data requirements for two-thirds of the 30,000 chemicals covered by the law, relieve
chemical producers of their duty to provide adequate information about substances they manufacture, and place the
burden of proof back on public authorities. The paper confirms rumours exposed by Friends of the Earth Europe,
Greenpeace and Quercus in July about a sabotage attempt on REACH by EU Industry Commissioner Günter Verheugen
who, together with Commission President José Manuel Barroso, is under pressure to significantly weaken REACH.
"The Commission's new paper upturns the principle of REACH for the great majority of chemicals. If this gets through,
the risks of thousands of chemicals for human health and the environment will remain unknown, as they have been for
decades," said Nadia Haiama-Neurohr of Greenpeace. "REACH then would not only relieve producers of responsibility
for their chemicals, but would also overburden the future EU chemicals agency with needless administrative steps to
obtain even basic safety information about chemicals, which should be supplied at the outset."
The new Commission plan proposes sparing chemical producers of the obligation to supply sufficient safety data on any
chemical they produce in volumes up to 10 tonnes a year, thus excluding 20,000 of the 30,000 chemicals that REACH
was intended to address. And it introduces a waiver option that could allow chemicals produced in even larger quantities
to remain exempt from the basic requirements.
"Mr Verheugen has never made a secret of the fact that he is happier to defend polluters than protect human health and
the environment. Now it would seem that he also holds the democratic process in contempt, with the Commission
attempting to interfere in discussions among member states and at the European Parliament," added Aleksandra
Kordecka of Friends of the Earth Europe.
The Commission's REACH proposal, adopted in October 2003, would require industry to provide safety data for all
chemicals produced in volumes above one tonne per year. This represents only 30% of the 100,000 chemicals registered
on the market in Europe. The REACH proposal, which is already a weak reflection of the original intentions, does not
demand sufficient safety data on low volume chemicals, and large groups of chemicals such as polymers remain exempt.
It would not come into force fully for at least 11 years after implementation.
Notes:
[1] Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) - COM 2003 0644 (03)
Contact:
Katharine Mill, Media Officer, Greenpeace European Unit, tel +32 (0)2 274 1903, +32 (0)496 156 229
Nadia Haiama-Neurohr, EU Policy Adviser Chemicals, Greenpeace European Unit, tel +32 (0)2 274 1913, +32 (0)476 961 376
Aleksandra Kordecka, Chemicals Campaigner, Friends of the Earth Europe, tel +32 (0)2 542 6108, +32 (0)498 505 165
