Debate: Chemicals strategy for sustainability
Date: THURSDAY, 9 JULY 2020
Speaker: Virginijus Sinkevičius
Language: EN

As announced in the Commission’s Work Programme for 2020 – we have updated recently to respond to the corona pandemic – the chemical strategy is planned for the third quarter and we are currently working towards an adoption at the end of the third quarter this year. Internal discussions and preparatory work are still ongoing, so I’m sure you will understand that the information I can provide today remains general and that I cannot yet go into any details of the upcoming strategy.  The chemical strategy for sustainability is one of the key deliverables of the Green Deal and one of the priorities, of course, within my portfolio this year. When we adopted the Green Deal last December we all agreed to ensure a toxic-free environment. The strategy had a twofold objective. First, it should help to protect citizens and the environment better against hazardous chemicals and it had to encourage innovation for the development of safe and sustainable alternatives. This twofold objective has guided our internal preparatory work from the very beginning and has also made it clear from the very start that to better combine health and environmental protection, and increase global competitiveness, all parties and stakeholders have to work closely together.  This also applies, of course, to the Commission, which is why my services, my team and I are preparing the strategy in a very close cooperation with many other DGs, Cabinets and Commissioners involved in this very horizontal, I would say, topic.  I appreciate that in the resolution that you will adopt tomorrow you equally acknowledge this horizontal character of chemicals. You highlight both the need to act towards a safe and sustainable use of chemicals, but also the essential role of the chemical sector in reaching the multiple targets of the Green Deal, such as the zero-pollution ambition, climate neutrality, energy transition, the promotion of energy efficiency and the circular economy.  Let me already thank you for the considerable work and effort you have put into this important resolution which, as I said, comes very timely. Once adopted, we will examine it very carefully and take it into account when finalising our chemical strategy over the next weeks. We will, of course, also take into account the over 400 comments and contributions we received from stakeholders and citizens on the roadmap for the chemical strategy, which was published for feedback from 9 May until 20 June of this year.  Let me now provide you with some more elements on our upcoming chemical strategy for sustainability. The strategy is based and will build on a number of policy evaluations and previous initiatives linked to the EU chemicals legislation and in particular the second REACH review from 2018, the fitness check of chemicals legislation from 2019, the Communication on endocrine disrupters from 2018 and the Communication on options to address the interface between chemical, product and waste legislation from 2018.  To reach our main objective, the strategy will particularly focus on the following five elements. First: strengthening legislation for higher health and environmental protection from hazardous chemicals. Despite the great achievements of EU chemicals legislation, we urgently need to step up action, in particular to better protect vulnerable groups, to address the combined effects of chemicals, to tackle endocrine disrupters and persistent substances. Second: boosting innovation and competitiveness. We need to incentivise the development of safe and sustainable production and use of chemicals. The transition to ‘safe and sustainable by design’ represents a major opportunity for the EU’s innovation and competitiveness. At the same time, a strong and sustainable EU industry is an important asset for the EU to contribute to global sustainability. We also need to support the recovery from the economic crisis, build resilience and ensure strategic autonomy in the supply of essential chemicals in Europe, for instance for health applications or technologies critical to achieve climate neutrality, digital transition, clean and safe material cycles and zero pollution.  Third: streamlining the existing framework. Our legislative framework is overall fit for purpose, but also complex, and in some cases inconsistent and slow. This is a challenge for both stakeholders and authorities. We have the opportunity to rationalise and simplify and make it more effective, including by moving towards a ‘one substance – one assessment’ process. Insufficient enforcement and poor compliance are also major bottlenecks, preventing existing legislation from attaining its full potential.  Fourth: intensifying research and knowledge on the impacts of chemicals on health and the environment, but also ways to better process and share this data and information for regulatory use, but also for consumer information or industrial use in the supply chain. One key area is the tracking of hazardous substances in articles to achieve non-toxic material cycles and ultimately a circular economy.  Finally, strengthening the global dimension. It is important that the EU becomes more and more an example worldwide of standards on sound management of chemicals to strengthen international standards and support third countries in the safe production and use of chemicals.  Once the final chemical strategy for sustainability has been adopted by the College, I will, of course, be happy to come back and present it to you and I already look forward to working very closely with you to implement it, because the work will, of course, not finish with the adoption of the strategy, quite the contrary. For now, let me thank you for your attention and I look forward to the views of the political groups.