AUTHORS: Peter Hjerp

EU Policy Briefing- 8 December 2006

The agreed compromise package on the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) is now available. The main challenge was to agree on the substitution principle and to what extent substances of very high concern ought to be substituted, even if safer alternatives exist. The European Parliament was of the opinion that these substances should not be allowed to stay on the market if safer alternatives do exist. In the end the European Parliament was unable to stick to its guns any longer and had to move from a requirement of mandatory substitution to mandatory substitution plans.