The Environment Committee held their opening debate on 12 July on the second reading of the REACH regulation on the registration, evaluation and authorisation of chemicals. The rapporteur believes the Council's position is a balanced one and that a deal can be struck by the end of the year. However, his report seeks to restore some key amendments from first reading and does not rule out the option of adding others during the negotiations to come.

The Council's common position on the REACH regulation, adopted on 27 June, takes on board 180 of the 430 amendments approved by Parliament at first reading, including the main ones concerning the registration and evaluation of chemical substances.

As regards authorisations, the Council's position is still far from what the EP decided in November 2005 and is thus likely to be one of the controversial issues at second reading. "Parliament adopted amendments which make the Commission's text more incisive and the Council has opted for an intermediate position (…). There is a margin for reaching agreement with the Council in December if the political will is there. To take this to conciliation would be idiotic", said the rapporteur, Guido Sacconi (PES, IT).

Mr Sacconi said he planned to focus on the key points approved by a large majority of MEPs but which Council has not accepted. These are:

• the duty of care by producers and importers
• the EP's role in the future European Chemicals Agency
• aid to SMEs 
• a European quality mark for products that meet the REACH criteria
• research into alternatives to animal experiments
• compulsory evaluation of substances likely to be cancerous, mutagenic or genotoxic, even if they have been produced in quantities of less than 10 tonnes.

Finland's Environment Minister, Jan-Erik Enestam, who came to the committee's meeting to present the programme for his country's presidency of the EU, told MEPs that Helsinki wants a decision at second reading and is "ready to look at feasible solutions to strike a deal with Parliament" before the end of its six-month term of office. His colleague in charge of industry and trade, Mauri Pekkarinen, underlined this point.

The Environment Committee is currently scheduled to vote on Mr Sacconi's recommendations for second reading on 10 October, with the plenary vote to follow in mid-November.

Source: The European Parliament