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Chemicals: ECHA draft working proramme 2013 - 15

Five years after its adoption, the REACH Regulation is still the most ambitious and comprehensive chemicals legislation in the world.

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Deadline:  12/06/2012

See also:  To the consultation

The aims of the legislation are to ensure a high level of protection of human health and the environment while enhancing competitiveness and innovation. The ECHA agency (European Chemicals Agency) was created to manage and coordinate the implementation of REACH on the EU and Member State level and to harmonise enforcement. REACH is complemented by the Classification and Labelling Regulation (CLP), which brings the EU in line with the UN-wide classification and labelling system for chemicals, which will ensure that the hazards presented by chemicals are clearly communicated to workers and consumers.

The difficult economic outlook for all of us – Member States, the EU, and companies throughout Europe – requires the Agency to prioritise its work, taking account of its means i.e. its staff, the budget available from fees and from subsidies awarded by the European Commission. This prioritisation process is helped by the Agency’s founding regulations, which often set clear deadlines by which work should be done. However, as there are still many areas in which subjective decisions need to be taken, the ECHA Board agreed upon four strategic aims which have guided the Agency in setting priorities for its activities in this multi-annual work programme:

  1. Maximise the availability of high quality data to enable the safe manufacture and use of chemicals.
  2. Mobilise authorities to use data intelligently to identify and address chemicals of concern.
  3. Address scientific challenges by serving as a hub for building the scientific and regulatory capacity of Member States, European institutions and other actors.
  4. Embrace current and new legislative tasks efficiently and effectively, while adapting to upcoming resource constraints.

ECHA is keen to hear your perspective on the strategic aims and on the priorities chosen for the coming three years.