Reaction to Reach chemicals law

Politicians and pressure groups comment on the passing of the EU's far-reaching chemical legislation, Reach.

Italian Socialist MEP Guido Sacconi, who steered the legislation through the European Parliament:

"It is a major step forward for public health, workers' safety and protection of the environment. In the end, we want to get rid of the most dangerous chemicals while boosting research and development in Europe."

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Finnish Minister of Trade and Industry, Mauri Pekkarinen:

"This is a historic day. After three years of intense negotiations, we have reached an agreement on the EU chemicals regulation Reach, which will considerably improve the protection of people's health and the environment. The chemicals regulation will reform the entire EU chemicals legislation and will turn Europe into a global forerunner and trailblazer. There is also reason to believe that the safest products in the world will mean better competitiveness for European industry in the future."

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Joel Decaillon, of the European Trade Union Confederation:

"Reach marks clear progress, because industry will now have to provide information on the safety of their chemicals before they can put them on the market... [But] European trade unions take issue with the fact that information vital to protecting workers' health given in the chemical safety reports will now only be required for a third of the chemicals originally planned.

"If the chemical industry thinks it will win the drive for competitiveness at the cost of public, occupational and environmental health, it has another think coming. It will only win out by being more open about the safety of its products and bringing innovative products to market that are safer for human and environmental health."

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British Conservative MEP John Bowis:

"A balance has been found to provide businesses with legal certainty, confidentiality and protection of intellectual property, to minimise the need for animal testing and promote alternatives to animal testing, and to lead the world in a regulatory regime for the registration, evaluation and authorisation of all chemicals, while having a lighter touch regime for small firms."

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British Green MEP Caroline Lucas:

"We are deeply worried that the key goal of this legislation - to offer EU citizens and the environment sufficient protection from dangerous chemicals - appears to have been lost in the haste to agree a compromise."

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Irish Fianna Fail MEP Liam Aylward:

"There is no doubt about the existence of a growing cocktail of chemicals in our daily lives. "Under the current patchwork of legislation we are unsure of the quantity of chemicals used and the effect on our health and our environment.

"This agreement is ground-breaking. We will be better informed. There will be a growing impetus for companies to invest and evolve in terms of research and development and substitution plans."

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National environment chairman of the UK's Federation of Small Businesses John Holbrow:

"Reach will require sensitive and smart implementation to ensure that it does not cripple small businesses."

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Alain Perroy, head of the European Chemical Industry Council (Cefic):

"We regret the unnecessary requirements added to the authorisation element of Reach."

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Jim Murray, director of European consumer group BEUC:

"The adoption of Reach is not the end of the story: what has been agreed must now be implemented properly and we will actively monitor the situation."