Campaigning and collaborating on REACH in Europe.ppt

WWF European Policy Office Dr A. Michael Warhurst, WWF EU Toxics Policy Campaigning and collaborating on REACH in Europe Michael Warhurst EU Chemicals Policy WWF European Policy Office, Brussels Introduction This talk gives a brief introduction to: What is the EU, What is Reach and how EU decision making works Environmental NGO views on REACH, and how these relate to the history of chemicals regulation in Europe How environmental and other NGOs are collaborating on this issue Some tactics that have been used at EU level, or within Member States. What is the EU? The European Union was created by intergovernmental treaties between the Member States These treaties defined a number of institutions, and defined their competence. The EU is much more than a free trade area - it also has considerable competence in general environmental and other policies. There are three key pillars of EU Governance: The European Commission Like a Civil Service, but more powerful. Divided into departments or “Directorate Generals” e.g. DG Environment and DG Enterprise Drafts legislation, often after a request from Council. Most implementation and enforcement is done at Member State level Council The EU Member State governments - subdivided into specialities, e.g. Environment Council is made up of Environment Ministers One of the two “chambers” of EU policy making European Parliament Elected by the people of Europe every 5 years The second chamber of EU policy making. Final agreement on most legislation is by votes in both Council and Parliament, or if disagreements remain, then by a 6-week forced compromise procedure “conciliation” Why is the EU important for chemicals? A major producer The EU produces 29% of the world’s chemicals - the largest chemical industry in the world A major market Currently 15 countries, 375 million people (the US population is 275 million) In 2004, 25 countries, around 450 million people The EU is becoming the global leader on environmental policy The EU is wi