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The European Trade Union Confederation held a conference bringing together the main players in the debate around the reform of the European legislation on chemicals (REACH). The conference took place in Brussels on 11-12 March 2005.
In October 2003 the European Commission adopted a proposal for a regulation aimed at radically recasting the Community policy on chemical substances. This proposed reform, known as REACH, sets up an overall system for the registration, evaluation, authorisation and restriction of chemicals. It has yet to be approved by the Council and Parliament in a co-decision procedure.
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REACH has become one of the fiercest political battlefields in the history of EU policy-making. This draft legislation has led to extremely intense lobbying due to its crucial implications for the health of workers, consumers and the environment on the one hand and, on the other, for business competitiveness and innovation.
The ETUC wishes to make a full contribution to the REACH debate, since it is convinced that this reform will have huge potential benefits, not only for the health of millions of workers exposed to chemicals on a daily basis, but also for Europe's industrial future.
Those attending the conference included Mr Stavros Dimas, European Commissioner for the Environment, Mr Lucien Lux, Minister of State in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, representing the presidency of the Council and Mr Guido Sacconi, principal rapporteur on REACH for the European Parliament, as well as representatives from industry, consumer associations and the main environmental NGOs.
Read some interventions.
Welcome and opening Statement
REACH, what are the stakes?
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Lucien Lux, Luxemburg Minister of State [FR]
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John Hontelez, EEB general secretary
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Hugues Thibaut, Test-Achats/BEUC
REACH: Challenges and Opportunities
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Regulatory impact assessments, what for?, Sophie Dupressoir, ETUC
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Impact on Economy and Employment - Complementary Work on the Impact Assessment of REACH, Patrick Hennessy, Director DG ENTR
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Impact on Environment and Human Health - Commission IA, Jos Delbeke, Director DG ENV
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Impact on Occupational Health: ETUC IA study, Simon Pickvance, University of Sheffield
Improving the REACH proposal: ETUC proposals
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Duty of Care, Waldemar Bahr, EMCEF
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Registration, Werner Schneider, DGB
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Evaluation, François Laurent, CSC
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Authorisation, Francisco Blanco, CC.OO
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Links between REACH and workers protection legislation, Henning Wriedt, BIAG
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Downstream Users and SMEs, Bernd Eisenbach, EFBWW
REACH and the Industrial Dynamics
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REACH and the industrial dynamics - Presentation of the ETUC study, Bernard Bordes, Syndex
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Positive effects of environmental legislations on competitiveness, Michael Warhurst, Lowell Centre for Sustainable Production
REACH an opportunity for a Sustainable Chemical Industry
The Conference report has been published in a special issue of our Newsletter.
For more information about REACH 
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