On discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Chemicals Agency for the financial year 2022

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SUGGESTIONS

The Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety calls on the Committee onBudgetary Control, as the committee responsible, to incorporate the following suggestions into its proposal for a decision:

1. Observes that the European Chemicals Agency ('the Agency') is the driving force in implementing the Union's chemicals legislation for the benefit of public health and the environment, as well as for innovation and competitiveness; notes that the Agency collects, evaluates and disseminates information on chemicals, helps companies comply with legislation and promotes the safe use of chemicals;

2. Notes that the Agency's final budget for 2022 was EUR 116 981 740, representing an increase of 5,3% compared to 2021; notes that budget monitoring efforts during 2022 resulted in a commitment appropriation execution rate of 98,6%, and a payment appropriations' execution rate of 85,1%; notes that the implementation of the budget, while keeping the strict segregation between several pieces of legislation or legislative area, is resulting in unnecessary administrative burden and inflexibility;

3. Notes that in 2022, the Agency collected fee income totalling EUR 40,154 million (EUR 30,198 million in 2021) while the Union subsidy amounted to EUR 78,294 million (EUR 79,665 million in 2021) including contributions from third countries of EUR 2,244 million (EUR 2,418 million in 2021);

4. Notes with satisfaction that in 2022, for the first time since the final registration deadline under Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006('REACH Regulation') in 2018, the Agency's fee income has increased, while reliance on the Union to finance its operations has slightly decreased;

5. Stresses, despite this reversal, the need to address the lack of predictability of the Agency’s fee income and calls on the Commission to present its proposal to strengthen the governance of ECHA and increase the sustainability of its financing model without delay, in line with its commitment expressed in the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability and in light of additional legal mandates the Agency is expected to take up; Highlights that persistence of budgetary uncertainty can have negative consequences on the exercise of ECHA's mandate and insists that predictable and sustainable financing is a pre-condition for effective discharge of the Agency's budget and recalls previous calls of the European Parliament to improve the Agency's budgetary certainty;

6. Underlines the necessity of ensuring adequate staffing reflecting the needs of the European Green Deal and the Union Chemical Strategy for Sustainability, Circular Economy Action Plan and, in particular, the zero pollution target and the associated increase in tasks;

7. Acknowledges that in 2022 the Agency focussed on delivering its core legal tasks and on providing scientific-technical support to the Commission in the implementation of the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability, in particular the revision of CLP and REACH, as well as taking on new task under the Drinking Water Directive;

8. Welcomes the fact that 151 of the 162 planned outputs have been completed as planned and a further 8 are in progress;

9. Welcomes ECHA’s activities for promoting alternatives to animal testing and the steps taken to increase the effectiveness and visibility of this work;

10. Notes that the Agency collaborates closely with other Union agencies, such as the European Food Safety Authority, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and the European Medicines Agency, by means of memoranda of understanding to strengthen exchanges of information, better mutual understanding and, where appropriate, joint projects; underlines the importance of such an approach, in order to ensure that the work of each agency is consistent with that of the other agencies and to meet the requirements of sound financial management; welcomes the sharing of services and encourages active cooperation among the Union agencies where and when possible, including in dedicated joint work teams on specific environmental topics such as pollinators and soil;

11. Regrets that ECHA continues to recommend authorising the use of substances of very high concern (SVHC) where there are significant uncertainties. Reminds the Agency of the obligation to verify if granting authorisation is duly justified and in line with the law, and to not support granting authorisations when non-negligible uncertainties remain on the existence of alternatives; Calls on ECHA to ensure the applicant provides sufficient data to exclude any carcinogenicity or long-term toxicity risk of the product;

12. Notes that the ECHA as an organisation underwent restructuring in 2022, which included significant changes at senior and middle management level and the introduction of a new hybrid working model for ECHA staff and ECHA bodies;

13. Deplores the very long time to restrict highly hazardous chemicals in the EU and that many uses of these chemicals are granted unjustly long or timeless derogations; calls on the Agency to strictly reference the evidence that it has considered when supporting derogations and to make remaining uncertainties clear;

14. Commends the work carried out in the implementation of the Integrated Regulatory Strategy (IRS) and notes with satisfaction that further progress has been made in identifying substances of concern requiring regulatory action, including the assessment of substances in groups, with approximately 2 000 substances in 61 groups assessed;

15. Invites the Agency, in respect of scientific excellence, to conduct its work in line with the Precautionary Principle, which underlines the REACH Regulation (Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006) and the need to protect, as a priority, human health and the environment from hazardous chemicals;

16. Notes that, on the whole, the Integrated Regulatory Strategy has led to approximately 75% of registered substances above 100 tonnes being assessed by the end of 2022; notes in this context that approximately 1 000 of these high-tonnage substances remain unassessed;

17. Commends the amount of work that the ECHA has done in 2022, including the large number of applications for authorisations and the adoption of opinions supporting restrictions for substances of concern, including dechlorane plus and lead used in ammunition for hunting, sport shooting and fishing;

18. Welcomes the fact that the ECHA, in cooperation with the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), has taken steps to promote the 'one substance - one assessment' principle to ensure greater consistency in the hazard and risk assessment of active substances;

19. Notes that the analysis for the period 2020-2022 revealed that approximately 20% of completed assessment cases were considered for further regulatory action;

20. Recommends, based on the facts available, that discharge be granted to the Executive Director of the European Chemicals Agency in respect of the implementation of the Agency's budget for the financial year 2022.

ANNEX: ENTITIES OR PERSONS FROM WHOM THE RAPPORTEUR HAS RECEIVED INPUT

The Chair in his capacity as rapporteur declares under his exclusive responsibility that he did not receive input from any entity or person to be mentioned in this Annex pursuant to Article 8 of Annex I to the Rules of Procedure.

INFORMATION ON ADOPTION IN COMMITTEE ASKED FOR OPINION

Date adopted

24.1.2024

Result of final vote

+:

–:

0:

66

13

6

Members present for the final vote

Catherine Amalric, Maria Arena, Hildegard Bentele, Sergio Berlato, Michael Bloss, Delara Burkhardt, Pascal Canfin, Sara Cerdas, Mohammed Chahim, Nathalie Colin-Oesterlé, Maria Angela Danzì, Esther de Lange, Christian Doleschal, Bas Eickhout, Pietro Fiocchi, Heléne Fritzon, Malte Gallée, Gianna Gancia, Catherine Griset, Teuvo Hakkarainen, Anja Hazekamp, Martin Hojsík, Jan Huitema, Karin Karlsbro, Petros Kokkalis, Peter Liese, Javi López, César Luena, Elżbieta Katarzyna Łukacijewska, Marian-Jean Marinescu, Lydie Massard, Liudas Mažylis, Marina Mesure, Silvia Modig, Dolors Montserrat, Alessandra Moretti, Ville Niinistö, Ljudmila Novak, Nikos Papandreou, Francesca Peppucci, Stanislav Polčák, Jessica Polfjärd, Erik Poulsen, Nicola Procaccini, Frédérique Ries, María Soraya Rodríguez Ramos, Maria Veronica Rossi, Silvia Sardone, Günther Sidl, Ivan Vilibor Sinčić, Maria Spyraki, Edina Tóth, Achille Variati, Petar Vitanov, Alexandr Vondra, Mick Wallace, Emma Wiesner, Michal Wiezik

Substitutes present for the final vote

Asger Christensen, Christophe Clergeau, Margarita de la Pisa Carrión, Martin Häusling, Billy Kelleher, Ska Keller, Danilo Oscar Lancini, Sara Matthieu, Dace Melbārde, Marlene Mortler, Manuela Ripa, Idoia Villanueva Ruiz

Substitutes under Rule 209(7) present for the final vote

Mazaly Aguilar, Katarina Barley, Daniel Buda, Ana Collado Jiménez, Marie Dauchy, Matthias Ecke, Paola Ghidoni, Peter Jahr, Thierry Mariani, Nora Mebarek, Sara Skyttedal, Michaela Šojdrová, Veronika Vrecionová, Thomas Waitz, Stefania Zambelli

FINAL VOTE BY ROLL CALL IN COMMITTEE ASKED FOR OPINION

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