EU Commission breaks key Green Deal promise – Chemicals regulation REACH is put on hold

The European Commission has just presented its work programme for 2023. After several postponements, the revision of the EU Chemicals Regulation REACH has now been pushed back to the end of 2023. This means that REACH will no longer be completed in the current legislative period. In addition, the planned revision will be scaled down and will only focus on law enforcement and simplification.

Jutta Paulus, pharmacist and expert on chemicals policy for the Greens/EFA in the European Parliament, comments:

“The European Commission is breaking its Green Deal promise to protect health and the environment from dangerous chemicals. The EU chemicals strategy for sustainability, proclaimed as a vision, ends up as a hypocritical Sunday speech.

Instead of supporting the declared goal of zero pollution, the REACH revision is suddenly supposed to secure European competitive advantages as a matter of priority. This makes it clear that the protection of people and the environment is to take a back seat to lobby interests.

Neither the European Parliament nor the Council will manage to find an agreed position on such a complex piece of legislation within a few months, let alone enter into negotiations with the Commission. What will be after the elections is written in the stars, because a new Commission could simply withdraw the entire proposal. With the postponement, the much needed chemical turnaround is on a knife edge.”

Background information:

Work Programme 2023: https://ec.europa.eu/info/publications/2023-commission-work-programme-key-documents_en

EU Chemical Strategy for Sustainability 2020:

https://ec.europa.eu/environment/pdf/chemicals/2020/10/Strategy.pdf

Green Action Plan for a sustainable EU Chemical Strategy: https://www.jutta-paulus.de/aktionsplan-fuer-die-europaeische-chemiewende-nachhaltig-wettbewerbsfaehig-schadstofffrei/