The Council and the Parliament reach an agreement to strengthen the European Chemicals Agency

The Council of the European Union and the European Parliament have reached a provisional agreement to strengthen the management and funding of the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA). The new rules will create an independent legal framework to help ECHA manage its growing number of responsibilities efficiently.

Since its establishment in 2007, ECHA and its scientific committees have played a key role in the implementation of the EU’s REACH Regulation (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals), providing technical and scientific assessments and opinions. ECHA’s responsibilities have been expanded to include product safety and environmental policy, including scientific opinions on the restriction of microplastics and PFAS.

“A strong and adequately funded European Chemicals Agency is essential to safeguarding our future. This agreement provides the resources and independence the agency needs to effectively assess and manage chemical risks, including emerging substances such as PFAS. It also supports a chemicals policy that ensures the system remains clear, workable and predictable for industry, whilst maintaining a high level of protection for people and the environment.” – Maria Panayiotou, Minister for Agriculture, Rural Development and the Environment of the Republic of Cyprus.

Consolidating ECHA’s expanded mandate

The co-legislators agreed to consolidate ECHA’s expanded roles and responsibilities under a single regulation, separating it from the REACH Regulation under which it was originally established. This unified and autonomous framework will provide a clear legal basis for ECHA’s operations and facilitate its efficient governance. The new rules set out the specific tasks assigned to ECHA under the various pieces of EU legislation.

The agreement allows the European Parliament or the Member States to request scientific opinions from ECHA, following consultation with the Commission.

Strengthening ECHA’s structure

ECHA’s structure will be adapted to manage its current and future workload effectively, thereby ensuring that it has the necessary resources. To maintain the highest standards of scientific and technical expertise within the EU, the agreement provides for Member States to propose the necessary pool of experts, who will be appointed to serve on their risk assessment and socio-economic analysis committees.

Simplified budget and reserve fund

By consolidating the budgets (from three to a single, autonomous budget), ECHA will have greater flexibility to allocate resources independently and adapt effectively to changing workloads.

Recognising the difficulties in accurately predicting revenue from fees and charges, the agreement establishes a reserve fund capped at 10 per cent of ECHA’s fees and charges to address fluctuations in such revenue and their impact on ECHA’s operations. The Commission may increase or decrease this percentage to between 1 % and 20 %, to better reflect ECHA’s actual financial needs.

Safeguarding credibility

The co-legislators recognised that trust in ECHA, as well as in its opinions and recommendations, is essential. They therefore laid down clear rules to prevent and manage conflicts of interest involving its staff and experts, including members of its internal bodies, in order to ensure its independence and credibility.

Next steps

The provisional agreement will now be submitted to the European Parliament and the Council for formal adoption. Once adopted, the new regulation will be published in the Official Journal of the European Union and will enter into force 20 days after its publication.

Background

ECHA plays a key role in the implementation of the REACH Regulation and other key legislation relating to chemicals, providing independent scientific advice and contributing to the protection of human health and the environment, whilst promoting innovation and competitiveness. ECHA manages the EU’s largest database of chemicals, which contains information on almost 500,000 chemical substances, including REACH registration data for more than 25,000 substances.

The consolidated rules, also known as the ECHA Framework Regulation, were proposed by the Commission as part of its action plan for the chemicals industry.

 

More information: European Council