Criticized once again in a report on Monday December 9, European legislation on dangerous chemical substances regularly suffers the wrath of environmental NGOs, due to a lack of transparency and dissuasive sanctions against manufacturers.
In order to protect health and the environment, the European Union (EU) adopted the REACH regulation in 2006 (for “Registration, evaluation, authorization and restriction of chemical substances”), which regulates the manufacture and use of chemical substances. chemicals in Europe.
Manufacturers are required to declare the substances they use in quantities greater than one tonne per year.
The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) verifies the declarations, and the authorities in each country evaluate the substances used.
For the most dangerous substances for health and the environment that the EU is trying to eliminate, companies must obtain prior authorization from the European Commission in order to continue using these products, under conditions. And those who do not respect the rules face sanctions from their national authorities.
What are the difficulties?
For several years, the complexity of the procedure has been criticized from all sides.
In a report Monday, the environmental NGO ClientEarth denounces the lack of sanctions. For the most dangerous substances, “inspections are rare” among industrialists. “Non-compliance is rarely sanctioned and fines are almost non-existent. »
“European authorities have no control over the application of laws at national level and do little to find out more”still accuses this organization.
ClientEarth also points out the lack of transparency of Member States, criticizing Germany and Spain for not having transmitted data on compliance or non-compliance with the REACH regulation among their industrial companies.
The European Union mediator also sounded the alarm a few weeks ago. In an investigative report, Emily O’Reilly denounced the slowness of the European Commission in ruling on authorization requests from companies that use dangerous substances.
Very far from the legal deadline of three months, “it takes on average 14.5 months for the Commission to prepare draft decisions” et “in some cases it takes several years”a period during which companies can continue to use the substances in the Union.
In France, at the National Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health Safety (ANSES), toxicologist Johanna Barthelemy-Berneron also regrets the “slowness” and the “complexity” of the European system.
Data transmitted by manufacturers can be “limited, obsolete, or even absent from the registration files”she admits.
But this regulation still remains “ambitious and essential”nuance the specialist. REACH has, for example, made it possible to ban “the controversial bisphenol A in certain products such as baby bottles”.
What will the European Commission do?
Initially, the European Commission intended to revise this regulation in 2022 to tighten it drastically and reduce environmental and health risks.
But the European executive has already postponed this review several times, notably in the name of preserving “fair rules” between European companies and international competition.
At the start of her second term, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen promised to « simplifier REACH » and to clarify the legislation on “eternal pollutants”, the famous PFAS, these synthetic chemical substances with a long life cycle, massively present in everyday life.
The file was entrusted to the Swedish Jessika Roswall, European Commissioner responsible for the Environment, and the Frenchman Stéphane Séjourné, vice-president responsible for Industrial Strategy. They want to put a legislative proposal on the table in 2025.
Stéphane Séjourné intends to tackle the Commission’s response time and simplify the procedure. He would like “significantly reduce the need for individual authorizations” for businesses and favor “broader restrictions”he wrote to MEPs.
This would allow “make decisions faster and more transparently”, “without compromising the high level of protection of our health and our environment”he assures.
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