Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-09-03-Speech-3-032"
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Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, this vigorous, lively debate has shown that we are dealing with an important and far-reaching subject. I think we can say today that taking this step concludes the intensive legislative work carried out in relation to the chemicals industry and the manufacture and use of chemicals in Europe – work that has taken many years.
I would like to make this very clear, thinking about the very useful image that Mrs Breyer used. Who is sitting in the engine, and who is sitting in the brake van? One thing is certain: as far as legislation on chemicals is concerned, the European Union is the engine for the whole world. Nowhere else are there regulations such as we have introduced, and nowhere else are demands being made of the chemicals industry such as we are making. Therefore, the Commission strongly believes that, in connection with the horizontal legislation for this sector, we now need a few years in which to put into effect what we have already decided, and that we should not immediately embark on any other major projects. It is with good reason that the REACH legislation provides for review periods, and we should observe the periods decided on by the legislator very closely. This means that the Commission will always present the reports and suggestions on time. As far as major horizontal initiatives are concerned, let me repeat that the Commission does not intend to make any further proposals within the foreseeable future.
I can also reassure you about the global effectiveness of this system. All the information available to me shows that all around the world, all those involved are indeed working hard to implement the system decided upon by the United Nations. We are definitely at the forefront when it comes to actual implementation. I think many major countries have been waiting for exactly what has happened here today, because they want to base their own legislation and their own implementation on what we do in the European Union. I expect that we will now see these procedures being brought to completion in many other countries.
Mr Schwab raised a very interesting question – that of whether we should have transitional deadlines for the conservation threshold values in Annex 6 that have been deleted as a consequence of the compromise between the parties. I can only say that the Commission does not have a problem with transitional deadlines. Personally, I believe they are essential and appropriate, but this omission in the law has not come about by chance. It is part of an overall compromise and, taking all the circumstances into account, I do not think it would have been proper for the Commission to allow the question of transitional deadlines for a few products to cause the compromise to fail. However, we will make sure that what the legislators wanted is achieved in an appropriate form.
I share the concerns of those who have voiced their misgivings about animal testing. I very much hope that this legislation does not lead to an increase in the number of tests on animals. It is important that testing on primates is absolutely prohibited in connection with this legislation. I want to say again, emphatically, that the Commission will put all its energy into restricting animal testing as much as possible. For me, this means that we must keep increasing our efforts to find recognised alternative methods to replace animal testing. Everyone who has concerns about this will find me on their side.
In conclusion, let me say that I believe that we have a piece of legislation before us that represents a ‘win-win’ situation for everyone involved. I am very grateful to everyone who contributed to it."@en1
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