EDA Member States recently adopted the REACH roadmap 2018-2020 which lists all current and potential future EDA activities related to the implementation, in the military domain, of EU Regulation No 1907/2006 on the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH). The roadmap should allow for a more structured and transparent approach in supporting the main purpose of the REACH regulation which is to protect human health and the environment while, at the same time, ensure the operational effectiveness of Member States’ armed forces.
The activities listed in the roadmap 2018-2020 are the result of an assessment, selection and prioritisation of proposals tabled by Member States, the European Commission, the defence industry as well as the recommendations made in the EDA Study on the Impact of the REACH and CLP Regulations on the Defence Sector which was finalised in December 2016.
In concrete terms, the EDA REACH roadmap 2018-2020 encompasses two categories of activities:
- generic tasks and subtasks carried out continuously, including administrative tasks, interaction and monitoring/coordinating activities with stakeholders;
- project-specific tasks and subtasks with a defined scope and duration, such as activities related to the Commission’s REACH Refit 2017, the EDA’s Code of Conduct on REACH Defence Exemptions, the EDA Member States’ Common Position on Ammunition Classification under REACH, or the implementation of specific proposals made in the aforementioned EDA Study on the Impact of the REACH and CLP Regulations on the Defence Sector.
The implementation of the different activities is managed by the Agency which shared the roadmap with all relevant stakeholders. During the whole implementation phase, the EDA will continue to closely cooperate with Member States’ REACH experts (including the EDA REACH Task Force at the technical level), the Commission, European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) and the defence industry.
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