Sittings · Document
On the proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the European Chemicals Agency and amending Regulations (EC) No 1907/2006, (EU) No 528/2012, (EU) No 649/2012 and (EU) 2019/1021
Committee on Budgets · Rapporteur: Hélder Sousa Silva
BUDGETARY ASSESSMENT
for the Committee on the Environment, Climate and Food Safety on the proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the European Chemicals Agency and amending Regulations (EC) No 1907/2006, (EU) No 528/2012, (EU) No 649/2012 and (EU) 2019/1021
(COM(2025)0386 – C100141/2025 – 2025/0207(COD))
The Committee on Budgets has carried out a budgetary assessment of the proposal under Rule 58 of the Rules of Procedure and has reached the following conclusions:
The Committee on Budgets,
– having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 September 2024 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union,
– having regard to Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2020/2093 of 17 December 2020 laying down the multiannual financial framework for the years 2021 to 2027,
A. whereas this proposal aims to strengthen the Agency’s governance while enabling it to effectively perform its tasks under existing legislation and allowing the Agency’s mandate to evolve in line with new responsibilities arising from adopted or forthcoming initiatives;
B. whereas the European Chemicals Agency (‘the Agency’) is a partially self-financed agency, with sources of income streaming from three different regulations, having imposed the establishment of three separate budgets and staffing plans, leading to operational inflexibility and administrative burden; whereas such fees are highly volatile and non-linear in terms of amount and timing, due mainly to their one-off nature and their dependence on strategic decisions of the chemical industry players;
C. whereas the Joint Statement of the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union and the European Commission on decentralised agencies (‘the Joint Statement’) was signed by the three institutions after the creation of the Agency;
D. whereas the fees charged to industry represented in 2025 around 30 % of the general revenues of the Agency, mainly from REACH/CLP fees;
E. whereas the Agency is currently operating under a universal budgeting model, where revenues streaming fees charged to chemical industry and balancing EU contribution are not segregated, possibly creating cross-subsidisation between the two;
1. Insists on the adequacy between tasks and resources and at this stage it seems that the proposal provides for sufficient financial and human resources for the planned changes since the estimated financial impact of the proposal for the remaining period of the current MFF is limited to EUR 0,577 million of staff expenditure as operational appropriations under Heading 1, and an estimated EUR 2,956 million of administrative appropriations for the post 2027 multiannual financial framework;
2. Stresses that, should additional responsibilities be granted to the agency in the course of the negotiations, their financial implications will be assessed and the Legislative Financial and Digital Statement accompanying the proposal will have to be revised accordingly, ensuring that the financial and human resources of the legislative proposal match the tasks entrusted to the Agency;
3. Reiterates that any new tasks entrusted to decentralised agencies should be financed through fresh appropriations, and that redeployments from other programmes and priorities should be limited and examined with due care;
4. Welcomes the abolishment of the requirements for segregated budgets and the grouping into a single budget line of the EU budget contribution to the Agency, which leads to simplification, transparency and allows for year-to-year comparison, taking into consideration the additional tasks attributed to the Agency;
5. Welcomes the abolishment of the requirements for segregation of staffing plans, removing operational impediments that affect human resources management, allowing the Agency to better adjust staff allocations in terms of the workload, and improving the Agency productivity;
6. Underlines the importance of regular assessment of the fees level taking into account evolution of the costs in line with Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715 of 18 December 2018 on the framework financial regulation for the bodies set up under the TFEU and Euratom Treaty;
7. Considers that due to the volatility of its revenues from fees and charges, the creation of a reserve for the Agency promotes the long-term sustainability of the financial model of the Agency, increases its resilience to respond to possible future crises and protects the financial interests of the EU Budget and taxpayers; affirms that the creation of such a reserve for the Agency is currently an exception for the self-partially funded EU decentralised agencies and requires close monitoring of its operations and assessment in the near future;
8. Determines that the proposal is compatible with the multiannual financial framework and the system of own resources as well as the IIA and the budgetary principles laid down in the Financial Regulation.
AMENDMENTS
As part of its budgetary assessment, the Committee on Budgets also submits the following amendments to the proposal:
Amendment 1
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 25
| Text proposed by the Commission | Amendment |
| 25. The Agency has experienced difficulties to accurately predict the income from fees and charges even with the most advanced statistical techniques due to the paucity of information on the drivers of demand from duty holders. This impacts the operations of the Agency and requires recurrent amendments to the budget by the Management Board. Therefore, the Agency should be allowed to create a reserve from the surplus of its revenues from fees and charges, subject to the conditions set out in this Regulation. This will allow the Agency to mitigate the consequences of large fluctuation in income from fees and charges. Specifically, the creation of such reserve will allow the Agency to increase the sustainability of its financing model without prejudice to the annual Union contribution and multiannual financial programming. The detailed rules on the parameters, the calculation and the operation of the reserve should be laid down in the Agency’s financial rules and should include the requirements set out in this Regulation. The calculation of the amount of the annual contribution to the reserve or of the amount made available from the reserve, to be included in the draft budget of the Agency, should follow a methodology mechanically applied by the Agency every year. | 25. The Agency has experienced difficulties to accurately predict the income from fees and charges even with the most advanced statistical techniques due to the paucity of information on the drivers of demand from duty holders. The Agency commits to continuously improve its forecasting methods. This impacts the operations of the Agency and requires recurrent amendments to the budget by the Management Board. Therefore, the Agency should be allowed to create a reserve from the surplus of its revenues from fees and charges, subject to the conditions set out in this Regulation. This will allow the Agency to mitigate the consequences of large fluctuation in income from fees and charges. Specifically, the creation of such reserve will allow the Agency to increase the sustainability of its financing model without prejudice to the annual Union contribution and multiannual financial programming. The detailed rules on the parameters, the calculation and the operation of the reserve should be laid down in the Agency’s financial rules and should include the requirements set out in this Regulation. The calculation of the amount of the annual contribution to the reserve or of the amount made available from the reserve, to be included in the draft budget of the Agency, should follow a methodology mechanically applied by the Agency every year. The establishment of such a reserve for a partially self-financed EU agency operating under the universal budgetary model is a unique case and does not set a precedent for other EU agencies. |
Or. en
Amendment 2
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 38 a (new)
| Text proposed by the Commission | Amendment |
| (38a) The implications of this Regulation for the Union budget have been assessed+ pursuant to Article 310(4) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. Sufficient financial and human resources should be provided for its implementation, while considering the impact of the financing on other Union programmes or policies and ensuring its compatibility with the multiannual financial framework, the system of own resources and the corresponding interinstitutional agreement, as well as with the budgetary principles laid down in Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509 of the European Parliament and of the Council[1]. | |
| ____________________ | |
| + Pro memoria: Budgetary assessment of the European Parliament’s Committee on Budgets of (XX) 2026 on the proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the European Chemicals Agency and amending Regulations (EC) No 1907/2006, (EU) No 528/2012, (EU) No 649/2012 and (EU) 2019/1021 (COM(2025)0386). | |
| [1] Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 September 2024 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union (OJ L, 2024/2509, 26.9.2024, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/2509/oj). |
Or. en
Amendment 3
Proposal for a regulation
Article 29 – paragraph 5 – point a
| Text proposed by the Commission | Amendment |
| (a) the Agency shall make contributions to the reserve solely from end-of-year budget results within the meaning of Article 99(4) of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715, where those results are positive and stemming from fee and charges revenues collected that are higher than the budgeted amounts in a given year; | (a) the Agency shall make contributions to the reserve solely from end-of-year budget results within the meaning of Article 99(4) of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715, where those results are positive and stemming from fee and charges revenues collected that are higher than the budgeted amounts in the last amended budget approved by the Agency Management Board in a given year; |
Or. en
Justification
The Agency has the possibility to amend its budget throughout the year. For clarity, the contribution to the reserve should be calculated by using the last update of the budget approved by the Agency Management Board
Amendment 4
Proposal for a regulation
Article 29 – paragraph 5 – point b
| Text proposed by the Commission | Amendment |
| (b) at any moment, the reserve included in the year N in the draft budget for the year N+1 shall not exceed 8% of the total actual amount realised in the year N-1 of the Agency’s revenues from the fees and charges referred to in paragraph 3, point (b) and the Union contribution referred to in paragraph 3, point (a), and shall also not exceed 8% of the Agency’s total actual amount of the administrative and operational expenditure realised in the year N-1, whatever amount is lower; | (b) at any moment, the reserve included in the year N in the draft budget for the year N+1 shall not exceed 15% of the average of the total actual amount realised in the last five years of the Agency’s revenues from the fees and charges referred to in paragraph 3, point (b) |
Or. en
Justification
The purpose of the reserve is to mitigate fluctuations in revenue from fees and charges and should therefore be linked solely to these elements, excluding the Union contribution. In addition, to avoid excessive annual volatility, the 15% cap should be calculated as an average over the last five years
Amendment 5
Proposal for a regulation
Article 29 – paragraph 5 – point c a (new)
| Text proposed by the Commission | Amendment |
| (ca) the Agency shall report annually, as part of its Annual Activity Report, on the reserve’s opening balance, inflows, outflows, and justifications; |
Or. en
Justification
It is important to properly monitor the functioning of the reserve
Amendment 6
Proposal for a regulation
Article 29 – paragraph 6
| Text proposed by the Commission | Amendment |
| 6. The Commission may review the conditions for the reserve set out in paragraph 5, and is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 46(1) to amend paragraph 5 on the basis of such review. | 6 The Commission shall present an assessment of the functioning of the reserve to the European Parliament and to the Council at the end of the fourth year of operation of the reserve. Where appropriate, the Commission shall present a legislative proposal to the European Parliament and to the Council with a view to adapting the reserve. |
Or. en
Justification
The conditions set in the proposal are very clear and hence if a revision is deemed necessary it should be done in co-decision due to its exceptional nature in the partial self-financed agencies context. Moreover, it is paramount that there is proper assessment of its operations
Amendment 7
Proposal for a regulation
Article 30 – paragraph 2 a (new)
| Text proposed by the Commission | Amendment |
| 2a. The Agency shall monitor its costs and the Executive Director shall provide, in a timely manner as part of the Annual Activity Report delivered to the European Parliament, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, detailed and substantiated information on the costs to be covered by fees and charges that are within the scope of this Regulation. |
Or. en
Justification
In line with the Framework Financial Regulation, it is necessary to ensure that the fees are set at an appropriate level to cover the costs of providing the services and to avoid significant surpluses.
Furthermore, this provision also reflects the recommendations of the European Court of Auditors requesting more transparency of on costs for the relevant stakeholders
Amendment 8
Proposal for a regulation
Article 30 a (new)
| Text proposed by the Commission | Amendment |
| Article 30a | |
| Revision of the fees | |
| 1. No later than .... [two years after the date of application of this Regulation] and every three years thereafter, the Commission shall evaluate the budgetary adequacy of the fees payable to the Agency in accordance with applicable sectoral Union legislation, notably with regard to ensuring that the revenue derived from the fees when combined with other sources of the Agency's revenue is sufficient to cover the cost of the services delivered. Where appropriate, the Commission shall transmit a legislative proposal to the European Parliament and to the Council with a view to adapting the fees set under applicable sectoral Union legislation. |
Or. en
Justification
To date, the European Commission has updated the fees only by indexing them to inflation. It is crucial that a regular analysis of revenues and related costs be conducted every three years, which may lead to a revision of the fees