Third Round Table on Essential Oils Sees Progress on REACH Registration

BRUSSELS, July 10, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

Yesterday, Thursday July 9, marked a decisive step for the REACH registration of essential oils. This is of significant importance to the several hundred SMEs operating in this industry sector and especially producers of lavender. The search for pragmatic solutions, initiated by the Commission and ECHA in April 2014 in partnership with stakeholder experts, has led to significant advances including the characterization of essential oils for the agricultural sector to specifically address the 2018 REACH registrations with minimum disruption to the sector.

This third round table is the result of the intensive work by stakeholders in recent months to analyze the regulatory texts, finding realistic approaches to facilitating registration. The constant dialogue and mutual respect throughout the process has enabled solutions to be found without compromising the very essence of REACH, the most advanced chemical regulatory system in the world, to protect consumer health and the environment.

Representatives of the industrial and agricultural sectors have unanimously welcomed the commitment of the Commission and ECHA who have engaged sincerely and shown commitment to finding a practical framework for an economic sector often neglected and left alone to face admittedly useful but complex regulation.

The involvement and support of Mr. Robert Tessier, special coordinator appointed by Stéphane Le Foll, French Minister for Agriculture, has been instrumental in creating trust and cooperation required from the economic sector as a whole and demonstrated the support of the French government.

All participants expressed their desire to see this model of dialogue become well established in the future in order to calmly approach other issues involving the agricultural sector and small business in general. Such an approach could be replicated for other major regulatory initiatives, involving jointly Member States and the European Institutions.