Lehdistötiedote

Strasbourg 13.12.2006

Kemikaalipaketti läpi selvin numeroin

Euroopan parlamentti on tänään Strasbourgissa pidetyssä äänestyksessä hyväksynyt selvin luvuin REACH-kemikaaliasetuksesta tehdyn kompromissipaketin. Puolesta äänesti 529 edustajaa 732:sta.

- Tämä on historiallista. Olemme juuri hyväksyneet EU:lle maailman edistyksellisimmän kemikaalilainsäädännön, sanoi Euroopan parlamentin jäsen Riitta Myller Strasbourgissa.

- Kolmen vuoden työ on tullut päätökseen. Lopputulokseen on syytä olla tyytyväinen. Toisessa lukemisessa Euroopan parlamentti onnistui parantamaan asetusta jäsenmaiden ministereiden neuvottelemasta yhteisestä kannasta. Parlamentin ansioiksi voidaan lukea sekä tiukempi korvausperiaate että asemaltaan vahvempi kemikaalivirasto, Myller jatkaa.

- Kemikaaleja tuottavien ja maahantuovien yritysten rekisteröintivelvoitteen kautta tietomme kemikaalien vaikutuksista ihmisten terveydelle ja ympäristölle lisääntyvät. Tulevaisuudessa yritysten on näytettävä toteen, että heidän käyttämänsä kemikaalit ovat turvallisia.

- Lisäksi kaikkein vaarallisimmat aineet saatiin tiukkaan kontrolliin, eli niiden käyttöä ei voi jatkaa silloin, kun korvaavan kemikaalin käyttö on teknisesti ja taloudellisesti mahdollista. Esimerkiksi elimistöön kertyvät ja lisääntymiskykyä heikentävät kemikaalit täytyy korvata aina kun vaihtoehto on olemassa, Myller tarkentaa.

- Tämä on hyvä alku haitallisten kemikaalien poissaamiseksi markkinoilta.

Tiedote, Euroopan parlamentin sosialidemokraattinen ryhmä

13.12. 2006

Euro MPs adopt world's toughest curbs on dangerous chemicals

The European Parliament today set in place the world's toughest controls on dangerous chemicals by a vote of 529 to 98 with 24 abstentions.

Socialist MEP Guido Sacconi, who steered the legislation through three years of negotiation, welcomed the vote in Strasbourg as "a major step forward for public health, workers' safety and protection of the environment."

The new rules on registration, evaluation and authorisation of chemicals – known by the acronym REACH – affect about 30,000 chemicals. Producers and importers will have to give the public information about the chemicals, promote their safe management and find safer alternatives to the most dangerous ones.

Said Italian MEP Mr Sacconi: "The regulation approved by the European Parliament today will give the European Union the world's most ambitious legislation on chemicals.

"Current legislation simply did not work. We need scientific information about chemicals we use because we do not want the drama of asbestos to happen again. REACH will switch the burden of proof of safety to the industry. It will promote the responsible use of chemicals."

Mr Sacconi said the compromise he reached with EU ministers came after three years of tough negotiations. "The main difficulty," he said, "was to find a fair balance between a high level of health and environment protection on the one hand and workability on the other, in order to safeguard the competitiveness of the European industry and avoid a bureaucratic system."

Alleging that extreme positions on both sides of the issue had endangered the talks, Mr Sacconi said: "Parts of the industry lobbied heavily to have the proposal rejected or watered down so that it would not work. Against this, the most radically pro-environmental positions could have jeopardised the chances of the project seeing the light of day.

"Socialists always believed that REACH should be an example of how to reconcile the economy and the environment. In this respect, today's compromise is an outstanding success.

"We put the principle of finding substitutes for dangerous chemicals at the heart of the new rules. No dangerous substance will be authorised for use without a substitution process and safer alternatives in the short or medium term. All authorisations will require submission of a substitution plan if alternatives exist, or a research and development plan if they do not.

"In the end, we want to get rid of the most dangerous chemicals while boosting development and innovation in the European Union.

"In looking carefully at the practicability of the rules, we paid special attention to small and medium sized businesses. REACH will secure the "One Substance One Registration" principle. This means that producers of the same substance can use a shared registration system and share costs proportionately. By avoiding duplication of scientific tests, the system will also cut overall costs for industry. There is more flexibility for small-scale production – and the Commission will have to offer small firms guidance on how to implement the system."

Mr Sacconi concluded: "This balanced compromise goes beyond rhetoric and pious wishes. The fact that REACH is now alive proves that the European Union can respond to growing public concerns when public health and the environment are at stake."