Is REACH going well? CEPS Policy Brief No. 198, 5 November 2009

This CEPS Policy Brief discusses the milestones of the new EU Regulation on the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemical substances (REACH) and the difficulties of its implementation. In a reader-friendly, non-technical fashion, the authors sketch out the main properties and ensuing obligations of REACH and survey its present status. They demonstrate that the Regulation suffers from overly ambitious deadlines and a number of technical and administrative uncertainties that are placing a higher burden of implementation for companies and for the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) in Helsinki than originally expected. Moreover, their analysis attempts to look one or two years ahead to discuss crucial issues for the short run and also comprises some reflections on the complicated cost/benefit structure of REACH which can only be appreciated when assuming a long-run perspective

REACH: A killer whale for SMEs? CEPS Policy Brief No. 307, 9 December 2013

REACH is a very demanding system for any business either large or small, yet right from the start one of the more serious concerns was whether and how SMEs could cope with the Regulation. After all, some 27,600 companies in EU chemistry are SMEs (95% of all firms). Seven years down the line, many of these fears are materialising. Assuming no significant changes are introduced to REACH, this paper suggests the following recommendations: Above all, we strongly encourage SMEs to start early and develop a strategy for REACH compliance well before 2018. Address the potential competition law implications of current SIEF arrangements, e.g. through a Guidance document from DG Competition by 2014 (in time for 2018) Facilitate the exchange of information along the value chain by adopting pragmatic approach to the content and format of Safety Data Sheets. More can be done on the IT front as well, for instance by developing tools that generate compliant Safety Data Sheets. Improve the communication of REACH and its intended goals, that is, the health and environmental benefits, to the wider public. SMEs regret the unawareness of the public in the light of the enormous efforts they have to undertake. In the event of a later review of REACH, the logic should be risk-based rather than hazard-based