Today, 21 March 2019, the Environment Committee met for the last planned meeting of this Parliament.
The adopted a successful challenge to the REACH authoruisation of chromium trixide.
Challenge
Vote: In favour: 20, against 16,abstenstions: 3
The voting looks like it was on strict Party lines. The EPP and ECR voted against, the rest (who were present) backed the challenge.
Observtaions
You can (soon) watch the debate below. It is useful to useful to watch.
The challenge was against a broad authourisation for over a hundred uses. It was recognised that the substance’s use was needed in certain uses by the challenger. Martin HÄUSLING (Greens/Germany) spoke in place of the sponsor of the challenge, Bas EICKHOUT (Greens/Netherlands).
The Resolution had fewer co-sponsors than usual. I guess it was a timing issue, rather than a lack of support.
There was a constant cross-reference to the recent European Court judgement, see case T-837/16.
Two MEPs, Françoise GROSSETÊTE (EPP/France) and Ivo BELET (EPP/Belgium), intervened against the challenge. The Commissions’s Michael FLUEH DG Grow, D1 – REACH) responded.
Along with the recent case law, and trend for successful challenges by the Environment Committee, it may mark a trend that requires ECHA and the European Commission to put forward more tightly drafted authourisations.
This will be something to watch when the new Parliament starts scrutinising secondary legislation in earnest later this year.