What changed

DRAFT EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION

P10_TA(2025)0046

on the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 2011/65/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the re-attributionRe-attribution of scientific and technical tasks to the European Chemicals Agency

(COM(2023)0781 – C90448/2023 – 2023/0454(COD))

Committee on the Environment, Climate and Food Safety

PE763.254

Amendments adopted by the European Parliament on 1 April 2025 on the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 2011/65/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the re-attribution of scientific and technical tasks to the European Chemicals Agency (COM(2023)0781 – C9-0448/2023 – 2023/0454(COD))

(Ordinary legislative procedure: first reading)

The European Parliament,

– having regard to the Commission proposal to Parliament and the Council (COM(2023)0781),

– having regard to Article 294(2) and Article 114 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, pursuant to which the Commission submitted the proposal to Parliament (C90448/2023),

– having regard to Article 294(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

– having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee of 20 March 2024,

– having regard to Rule 60 of its Rules of Procedure,

– having regard to the report of the Committee on the Environment, Climate and Food Safety (A10-0019/2025),

1. Adopts its position at first reading hereinafter set out;

2. Calls on the Commission to refer the matter to Parliament again if it replaces, substantially amends or intends to substantially amend its proposal;

3. Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council, the Commission and the national parliaments.

Recital 1: (1) The Commission has, in its Communication ‘European Green Deal2 , set an objective that chemical safety assessments should move towards a process of ‘one-substance, one-assessment’, calling for more transparent and simpler risk assessment processes in order to reduce the burden on all stakeholders, accelerate decision-making, as well as to increase consistency and predictability of scientific decisions and opinions. The Commission, in its Communication on Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability3 concludes that, in order to achieve that objective, part of the scientific and technical work on chemicals performed at Union level in support of Union legislation needs to be reattributed to the most suitable Union agencies. This would simplify the current set-up, improve quality and coherence of safety assessments across Union legislation, and ensure more efficient use of existing resources. This approach is also expected to promote cost-effectiveness and competitiveness by simplifying regulatory procedures and reducing administrative burdens, ensuring that businesses can adapt efficiently to evolving regulatory frameworks.

Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 1 – point b a (new), Article 5 – paragraph 5: (ba) paragraph 5 is replaced by the following: / "5. An application for renewal of an exemption shall be made no later than 18 months before the exemption expires. The Commission shall adopt the decision on the application within six months of receipt of the opinions from the Agency. The existing exemption shall remain valid until a decision on the renewal application is taken by the Commission."

(32011L0065)

Directive 2011/65/EU

Article 2 – paragraph 1: The provisions under this Directive shall be applicable from [OJ: 18 months after the publication of this Directive].

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

In general, the Rapporteur considers that ECHA needs a Basic Regulation to ensure it is fit for the future and can deliver EU goals and ambitions on chemical safety, protecting health and the environment and supporting competitiveness. To ensure simplification and flexibility, the basic regulation should provide ECHA with the possibility to have one single budget line for its EU contribution and the possibility to build up a reserve fund from fees.

The Rapporteur considers that the reattribution of scientific and technical tasks will have a significant impact on ECHA. A restructuring of the work of the Agency will be necessary to ensure that its Committees can cope with the increased workload without compromising the quality, punctuality and the timeliness of their work.

In this context, new structures – committees or working groups – are likely to be considered in order the Agency to cope effectively with the new tasks. In addition, the reinforcement of the existing ones (the Risk Assessment Committee and the Committee for Socio-Economic Analysis) is needed.

Beyond the need for additional budget and staffing, the setup as well as the organisation of the work need to be considered. With no clarity on the future structure of the Agency’s scientific committees it is impossible to conclude on whether the proposed resources will be sufficient for the Agency to manage the increased workload.

The adoption of a proposal for an ECHA Basic Regulation is very important, as it will allow the Agency to smoothly and efficiently integrate the new tasks.

In this regards, the Rapporteur proposes a longer transitional period than the current 12 months set out in the legal proposal. This is particularly important since no financial and human resources are currently planned to be provided to ECHA until the legal text is adopted and enters into force.