Draft Report Finds REACH Being Enforced Differently in Each Country
December 22, 2009 - According to a draft report developed for the European Commission's Environment Directorate, the European countries are using divergent approaches to enforce REACH (Registration, Evaluation and Authorization of Chemicals) regulation. About 45 percent of the European countries use both administrative and criminal penalties to enforce REACH, although some countries emphasize criminal penalties and others tend to focus on administrative violations.
The report further cites the great variations in the fines that are levied for REACH violations. Countries issuing "very high" fines include Belgium, Ireland, Poland, Portugal and the United Kingdom. Countries issuing "high" fines include Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece and Liechtenstein and countries issuing "mid-level" fines include Bulgaria, Cyprus, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg and the Slovak Republic. Countries issuing "low-level" fines include Austria, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta and Romania.
While each country is responsible for enforcing the REACH violations, the European Commission is responsible for ensuring that the law is correctly applied. If a country is found not to be enforcing the law, the commission has the right to intercede with the member states to try and bring the infringement to an end and when necessary refer the case to the European court of Justice.