Open letter to the French Prime Minister urging her to adopt an ambitious position on REACH

43 organisations are writing to the French Prime Minister to urge her to act for a rapid revision of REACh

For several months now, our organisations have been campaigning for a rapid revision of the EU chemicals regulation #REACh. REACh is the regulation that regulates the manufacture and use of chemicals in the EU. It came into force in 2007, but many flaws limit its effectiveness and show the importance of revising it as soon as possible to protect the health and environment of Europeans. Although the proposed revision was due to be published in 2022, it has been postponed several times. This delay is worrying in view of the forthcoming European elections in 2024: if the REACH review is not presented before the summer, there is a risk that the future Commission will not take up the dossier and an uncertainty as to the next composition of the European Parliament, which could be less committed to the issue.

43 organisations are writing to the Prime Minister, E. Borne, to call for action!
Our organisations are writing to the French Prime Minister, Elisabeth Borne, calling her to put forward a clear, strong and ambitious French position to the European Commission, and in particular to Commissioner Thierry Breton, in order to finalise this reform as soon as possible. Indeed, for several months now, various newspapers (Contexte, Mediapart, Le Monde) and associations have been denouncing a problematic proximity between the European Commissioner for the Internal Market and the chemical industry lobbies, which has resulted in a delay in the implementation of the REACh revision.

REACH: A delay that would be catastrophic and incomprehensible
This delay, if confirmed, would be catastrophic because the health and environmental issues involved in this revision are considerable. In France, the media coverage of PFAS pollution, eternal pollutants found in all environments, including our drinking water, is an example. It is high time to protect the health of European and French citizens. Nearly 88% of EU citizens are concerned about the impact of chemicals on their health and the environment (Eurostat, March 2020, Eurobarometer), and rightly so: a recent study by the European Environmental Agency states that 10% of cancers in the EU could be prevented because they are partly due to pollution in the living environment and partly attributable to chemicals found in the air or in consumer objects. Such a delay would be all the more incomprehensible at a time when large companies, health insurance companies, doctors and researchers are calling for this reform.