Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on the "Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending, for the twenty-fifth time, Council Directive 76/769/EEC on the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States relating to restrictions on the marketing and use of certain dangerous substances and preparations (substances classified as carcinogens, mutagens or substances toxic to reproduction — c/m/r)" (COM(2002) 70 final — 2002/0040 (COD))
Date: 2002-05-29
Institutions: European Economic and Social Committee
Subjects: approximation of laws, dangerous substance, environmental protection, marketing restriction

C 221/8

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

17.9.2002

Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on the ‘Proposal for a Directive of the European
Parliament and of the Council amending, for the twenty-fifth time, Council Directive 76/769/EEC
on the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member
States relating to restrictions on the marketing and use of certain dangerous substances and
preparations (substances classified as carcinogens, mutagens or substances toxic to reproduction
— c/m/r)’

(COM(2002) 70 final — 2002/0040 (COD))

(2002/C 221/03)

On 28 February 2002 the Council decided to consult the Economic and Social Committee, under
Article 95 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, on the above-mentioned proposal.

The Section for the Single Market, Production and Consumption, which was responsible for preparing
the Committee’s work on the subject, adopted its opinion on 8 May 2002. The rapporteur was
Mr Colombo.

At its 391st plenary session (meeting of 29 May 2002), the Economic and Social Committee adopted the
following opinion unanimously.

1.

Introduction

— 2 classified as carcinogenic category 1;

1.1.
The draft directive under consideration constitutes the
latest periodic updating of points 29, 30 and 31 of Annex I
to Directive 76/769/EEC which prohibit the marketing of
specifically listed substances, since they are classified as
carcinogenic, mutagenic or toxic to reproduction (c/m/r).

1.2.
Under Directive 94/60/EEC, the Commission is obliged
to present to the European Parliament and the Council, every
six months, a list of new substances which the latest scientific
knowledge has shown to have the negative characteristics
listed above. The aim is to achieve progressively better
protection of the health of European citizens, and to safeguard
the internal market.

1.3.
The Committee has given its opinion on the earlier
amendments; the most recent such opinion was on ‘Dangerous
substances — c/m/r’ (1), which should be referred to for
comments on procedure and on the application of the final
decisions on these regular updatings.

It should be stressed that, in the Commission’s view,
1.4.
the amendment procedure involving progressive, regular
updating is the only method available under the legislation
currently in force.

2. The Commission proposal

2.1.
The Commission proposal would extend the appendix
relating to points 29, 30 and 31 of Annex I to Directive 76/
769/EEC by including, on the basis of current knowledge, the
following numbers of substances:

( 1) OJ C 311, 7.11.2001.

— 19 classified as carcinogenic category 2;

— 5 classified as mutagenic category 2;

— 1 classified as toxic to reproduction category 1;

— 16 classified as toxic to reproduction category 2.

3. General comments

3.1.
The Committee welcomes the Commission’s presen-
tation on the basis of Directive 94/60/EEC (restrictions on the
marketing and use of certain dangerous substances and
preparations) and Directive 67/548/EEC (approximation of the
laws, regulations and administrative provisions relating to the
classification, packaging and labelling of dangerous substanc-
es), of further proposals to the European Parliament and the
Council to add newly classified c/m/r substances (categories 1
and 2) within the six months laid down.

The Committee regards the proposal to include the
3.2.
substances listed in 2.1 above in the appendix relating to
points 29, 30 and 31 of Annex I to Directive 76/769/EEC as
positive and necessary to assist the fight against cancer and
useful for safeguarding the internal market.

This assessment

3.3.
is based on the current state of
knowledge on these substances, and takes account of their low
economic and employment impact, and of the fact that their
use is now limited, partly as a result of information on
substitutes for them being supplied to firms in good time.

17.9.2002

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Official Journal of the European Communities

C 221/9

that

the proposal

The Committee emphasises

3.4.
is
important because, in addition to introducing uniform stan-
dards for the circulation of substances and preparations
classified as carcinogens, mutagens or toxic to reproduction, it
confirms the European Union’s strategy of developing a
coordinated range of policies designed to defend rigorously
and to improve the living conditions of European citizens.

3.5.
As regards the fight against cancer the Committee
stresses, as it did forcefully in its opinion on the Action plan
to combat cancer within the framework for action in the field
of public health (1), that in the last few decades the death rate
from cancer has increased in a context of progressive ageing
of the population.

Indeed, the most recent data reveal the emergence in
3.6.
the EU of 1,5 million new cancer cases per year with almost 1
million deaths from cancer per year. The fatalities display
an increasingly clear connection with lifestyle and living
conditions. The Committee stresses the need to take positive
measures likely to help change these behaviour patterns,

partly through suitable educational initiatives, starting with
schoolchildren.

4. Conclusion

Faced with this scourge of modern society, the Com-
4.1.
mittee gives its support to the current proposal but stresses
the need to move on from this stage — often marked by
belated responses to problems — to the implementing phase
of the programmes for overall review envisaged by the White
Paper — Strategy for a future Chemicals Policy (2). This
document, which envisages the examination of 30 000 chemi-
cals in an initial stage, constitutes the real quality leap for the
production, marketing and use of chemicals in the EU.

4.2.
The Committee therefore advocates rapid progress
with the new programme to facilitate the transition from the
current, essentially defensive, strategy to one based on the
fundamental principle of prevention, as envisaged by the
implementing programmes of the White Paper itself.

( 1) OJ C 393, 31.12.1994.

(2) COM(2001) 88 final.

Brussels, 29 May 2002.

The President

of the Economic and Social Committee

Göke FRERICHS