Interview - Parliament ready for REACH compromise[fr][de] 

Guido Sacconi (PES, Italy) is the Parliament's rapporteur on the REACH dossier

Guido Sacconi is quick to adopt a conciliating tone when speaking about the EU's draft REACH regulation on chemicals. "I notice that the positions of the Council and the Parliament are not very far apart," he told EurAcitv in an exclusive interview.

But he is determined on one point - that chemicals of highest concern are substituted with harmless alternatives whenever possible. "For substances of high concern, when viable alternatives exist, there should be substitution," Sacconi insists.

Under the draft, the most toxic substances are to be registered with a central database during the first three years of REACH coming into force. Such chemicals include substances that are carcinogenic, mutagenic or toxic to reproduction and those that tend to build up in the environment and the human body (persistent, bio-accumulative and toxic).

In particular, Sacconi states his readiness to accept one key demand of the Council - that time limitations for authorising such chemicals of high concern be decided on a case-by-case basis instead of the uniform five-year period supported by Parliament. 

But such a compromise would come at price, on a give-and-take basis, Sacconi says. This could come in the form of a more precise definition of the conditions under which authorisations can be granted for substances of high concern. In its first reading last year, the Council agreed that authorisations could be granted if the risks of using the substance are "adequately controlled" or if the social-economic benefits it brings outweighs the risks.

"I think there is a lot of work to do on the concept of 'adequate control'," says Sacconi. "We can - and we should - do it in the framework of a compromise agreement." 

However conciliating he seems, the former trade-union leader also knows how to hold firm to his position. And so far, neither the Council nor the Commission have agreed to budge, he points out. "For the moment, all EU institutions have played their game, saying it is very difficult for them to make a move. Well, for me too it is difficult!" he exclaims.

Then the warning comes. "If I have to go to confrontation, then I will."

"As long as the Commission and the Council's official stance is to hold on to the [Council] common position, I will stick with the Parliament's position in first reading," Sacconi says. 

And in the negotiation process, he says that the institution which has so far shown the least flexibility is the Commission. "Institutionally, the Commission's task is to facilitate an agreement between legislators [Parliament and Council]" in case of persisting divergence, he points out. 

However, it has so far failed to do so. "To fulfil this role, you need to have one position, not two," says Sacconi in reference to internal disagreements between the Commission's enterprise and environment directorates over how ambitious the regulation should be.

"REACH is done and dusted, nobody can kill it anymore. Now, we have to move to the implementation phase."

"I am launching an appeal. We now have to take the decisive step".

Click here to read the read the full interview (in French) and find out about Sacconi's views on topics such as OSOR and data protection