GroenLinks

Hoorzitting REACH

12 januari 2005

Het wetsvoorstel 'REACH', afkomstig van de Europese Commissie, is een van de belangrijkste onderwerpen op de Europese agenda van de komende tijd. Doel van REACH is de schade door chemische stoffen aan de volksgezondheid en het milieu te beperken.

Journalisten die in één dag een volledige introductie in dit belangrijke onderwerp wensen, zijn volgende week woensdag 19 januari van harte welkom tijdens een hoorzitting over REACH in het Europees Parlement in Brussel.

Op deze dag zal de huidige stand van zaken met betrekking tot REACH worden besproken en zullen alle voor- en tegenstanders (parlementariërs, Europese Commissie, NGO's en de industrie) aan het woord komen. Het volledige programma vindt u onderaan deze e-mail.

Namens de transnationale delegatie in het Europees Parlement van GroenLinks/Groen! zal de Vlaamse europarlementariër Bart Staes aanwezig zijn. Hij is specialist op het gebied van REACH en is beschikbaar voor nadere uitleg aan de pers.

"Het gevaar van die chemische stoffen is groot. In je woonkamer, in de keuken en op kantoor, ze zitten overal. Ze dringen ons lichaam binnen en vervolgens raak je ze soms nooit meer kwijt. De afgelopen 14 jaar blijkt de vruchtbaarheid van de Westerse man met bijna 30% te zijn afgenomen. De verhoogde blootstelling aan chemicaliën is hoofdverdachte. Kortom, hoog tijd dat er wat aan gedaan wordt", aldus Staes.

Geïnteresseerden kunnen zich melden bij:

Wilmer Heck
Persvoorlichter
GroenLinks in de Europese Unie

Mob: 0031 6 270 150 80
E-mail: groenlinks-nl@europarl.eu.int


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Het programma van woensdag 19 januari:

JOINT PUBLIC HEARING

"The new REACH legislation"

Wednesday, 19 January 2005, from 9.00 am to 6.30 pm

BRUSSELS

European Parliament,

Paul-Henri Spaak Building, Hemicycle

PROGRAMME

9.00 OPENING

Mr Karl-Heinz FLORENZ, Chairman of the Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety

9.15-10.40 SETTING THE CONTEXT

Chair: Mr Karl-Heinz FLORENZ, Chairman of the Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety

Co-chairs: Mr Giles CHICHESTER, Mr Phillip WHITEHEAD

State of play of REACH in the Council and perspectives under Luxembourg Presidency

Mr Lucien LUX, Minister for Environment of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (invited)

Mr Jeannot KRECKÉ, Minister for Economy and External Trade of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (invited)

Costs and benefits of REACH in the Commission extended impact assessment and in the business case-studies

Mr Stavros DIMAS, Commissioner responsible for the Environment (invited)

Mr Günter VERHEUGEN, Commissioner responsible for Enterprise and Industry (invited)

Review of impact assessments on REACH: conclusions of the workshop held on 25-27 October 2004

Mr Pieter VAN GEEL, State Secretary for Environment of the Netherlands (invited)

Ms ir C.E.G. VAN GENNIP, State Secretary for Economic Affairs of the Netherlands (invited)

10.00 Questions by MEPs (starting with Mr Guido SACCONI, Ms Lena EK and Mr Hartmut NASSAUER)

10.35 Concluding remarks by Mr Karl-Heinz FLORENZ

10.45-12.30 PANEL 1 - "Implications of REACH for the industry"

Chair: Mr Giles CHICHESTER, Chairman of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy

Co-chairs: Mr Karl-Heinz FLORENZ, Mr Phillip WHITEHEAD

· A manufacturer point of view

Ms Judith HACKITT, Director General, Business and Responsible Care, Chemical Industries Association, UK

· A Downstream user point of view - Substances in articles

Mr Urban WASS, Volvo Car Corporation, Sweden

· A retailer point of view - Substances in articles

Mr Mike BARRY, Marks & Spencer, UK

· An SME point of view

Mr Bruno STEPHAN, The European Association of Chemical Distributors, Germany

· Impacts on Research and Innovation

Dr Gyula KÖRTVÉLYESSY, Hungarian Chemical Association, Hungary

· An independent expert point of view

Mr Dirk BUNKE, Öko-Institut Freiburg, Germany

11.55 Questions by MEPs (starting with Ms Lena EK, Mr Guido SACCONI and Mr Hartmut NASSAUER)

12.25 Concluding remarks by Mr Giles CHICHESTER

15.00 -18.10 PANEL 2 - "Registration, authorisation, substitution and the European Chemicals Agency"

Chair: Mr Karl-Heinz FLORENZ, Chairman of the Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety and Mr Phillip WHITEHEAD, Chairman of the Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection

Co-chair: Mr Giles CHICHESTER,

· Presentation by Commission

· A Member State proposal - One Substance One Registration

Mr MOGYORÓSY , Hungary

· A scientific expert perspective - Health implications

Prof. Dominique BELPOMME, France, Chair of ARTAC, Association française pour la Recherche Thérapeutique Anti-Cancéreuse

· A scientific expert perspective - Registration

Dr Enric Julia DANES, Universitat Ramon Llull, Barcelona, Spain

· Industry point of view - Registration

VCI, Verband der Chemischen Industrie Deutschlands, Germany

· Industry point of view - Authorisation and Substitution

Mr Alain Perroy, CEFIC

· Downstream users' point of view - data protection for downstream users

Mr Tibor MÜLLER, DIHK, Germany

· Downstream users' point of view - information requirements

Mr Charles LAROCHE, AISE/Unilever

16.00-16.30 Questions by MEPs (starting with Mr Guido SACCONI, Mr Hartmut NASSAUER and Ms Lena EK)

· A consumer point of view

Mr Jim Murray/Mrs Charlotte de Roo, BEUC

· An internal market expert perspective

Mr Jacques Pelkmans, Director of the Economics Department at the College of Europe, Bruges

· A WTO perspective - Imported products

Prof. Marco BRONCKERS, University of Leiden, Netherlands

· Trade Unions point of view

Mr Joël Decaillon/Marc Sapir, Confederal Secretary of ETUC, European Trade Union Confederation

· NGO point of view

Mr Stephan SCHEUER, EEB

· NGO point of view - Alternative testing methods

Ms Marlou HEINEN, Animal Welfare Group

· A Member State perspective - the role of the Agency

France (Environment Ministry or national authorisation agency)

17.30 Questions by MEPs (starting with Mr Hartmut NASSAUER, Mr Guido SACCONI and Ms Lena EK)

18.00 Concluding remarks by Mr Karl-Heinz FLORENZ and Mr Phillip WHITEHEAD

CONCLUSION

18.10 Concluding remarks

Ms Lena EK, draftsman for the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy

Mr Hartmut NASSAUER, draftsman for the Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection

Mr Guido SACCONI, rapporteur for the Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety

18.25 Closure of the hearing

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