A long-awaited vote on an important decision
The European Commission’s vote postponed
On the coming 9th and 10th July, upon the REACH Committee, the European Commission was to vote on the CTAC decision (CTAC stands for Chromium Trioxide Authorisation Consortium), eagerly awaited. However, following ongoing internal discussions, in particular with the DG (Directorate-General) Environment and the DG Internal Market on the draft of the decision, the vote was postponed to a later date. The next REACH Committee is scheduled for 17th and 18th September 2019, dates on which the vote should theoretically take place.
History of the decision: a reminder
As a reminder, on 14th and 15th February 2019, the REACH Committee had already voted and adopted the “CTAC decision”, granting the authorisation to the consortium. Following this vote, one of the applicants proceeded to a legal entity change.
This change forced the REACH Committee to vote again on the decision. In the meantime, two events happened and influenced the process:
- The General Court ruling which annuls an authorisation granted in 2016 for 6 uses of lead chromate
- The European Parliament resolution criticising the CTAC decision of the European Commission
These two occurrences shed a new light on the situation, and the discussions are still underway.
CTAC authorisation consortium
CTAC is a consortium composed of 6 companies aiming at obtaining an authorisation for various uses of chromium trioxide. As long as the decision on the review period is still pending, the use of chromium trioxide for these companies is still authorised.
But, depending the European Commission’s decision, which will not be less restrictive than the one decided upon in February, things might change quickly. Since the authorisation covers downstream users as well, a very large number of companies could be affected: around 1 500 production sites.
A long-awaited vote on an important decision
The European Commission’s vote postponed
On the coming 9th and 10th July, upon the REACH Committee, the European Commission was to vote on the CTAC decision (CTAC stands for Chromium Trioxide Authorisation Consortium), eagerly awaited. However, following ongoing internal discussions, in particular with the DG (Directorate-General) Environment and the DG Internal Market on the draft of the decision, the vote was postponed to a later date. The next REACH Committee is scheduled for 17th and 18th September 2019, dates on which the vote should theoretically take place.
History of the decision: a reminder
As a reminder, on 14th and 15th February 2019, the REACH Committee had already voted and adopted the “CTAC decision”, granting the authorisation to the consortium. Following this vote, one of the applicants proceeded to a legal entity change.
This change forced the REACH Committee to vote again on the decision. In the meantime, two events happened and influenced the process:
- The General Court ruling which annuls an authorisation granted in 2016 for 6 uses of lead chromate
- The European Parliament resolution criticising the CTAC decision of the European Commission
These two occurrences shed a new light on the situation, and the discussions are still underway.
CTAC authorisation consortium
CTAC is a consortium composed of 6 companies aiming at obtaining an authorisation for various uses of chromium trioxide. As long as the decision on the review period is still pending, the use of chromium trioxide for these companies is still authorised.
But, depending the European Commission’s decision, which will not be less restrictive than the one decided upon in February, things might change quickly. Since the authorisation covers downstream users as well, a very large number of companies could be affected: around 1 500 production sites.
