EU to finalize Union strategy on chemicals

The Council of the European Union adopted conclusions on the development of a sustainable EU chemicals policy strategy in June 2019. These conclusions fall within the current 7th Environment Action Plan (EAP), adopted in 2013, which mandated the European Commission to develop a Union strategy for a non-toxic environment that is conducive to innovation.

The recent conclusions address particular topics of REACH, endocrine disruptors, nanomaterials and pharmaceuticals. The conclusions are expected to guide a new Union strategy for coordinating the protection of vulnerable groups by introducing risk management requirements into relevant EU legislation on chemicals of concern. The Council of the European Union has urged the European Commission to include in its proposal an 8th Environment Action Programme to implement the measures to the strategy.

The European Commission is set to finalize a Union strategy for a non-toxic environment by the end of the year. The proposed strategy is expected to deliver a regulation for water use, as well as the creation and implementation of an early warning system for chemical risks. Given the relevance of the upcoming EAP and chemicals Union strategy for the environmental and medical sector, it will be necessary to monitor the negotiations, which are set to start in the following months.