The JRC and ECHA agree to cement their cooperation

ECHA/PR/12/36
Press release
Media enquiries: ECHA Press

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) and the Institute for Health and Consumer Protection (IHCP) of the European Commission's Joint Research Centre sign a collaboration agreement.

Helsinki, 14 December 2012 – The main objective of this agreement is to develop the collaboration on chemicals between JRC-IHCP - which provides scientific support to EU policies for the protection of the interests and health of European citizens in the areas of food, consumer products and chemicals - and ECHA, the key European institution for the implementation of the EU's chemicals legislation.

The new collaboration agreement will develop the synergies between these two European institutions. It paves the way to the development of common projects included in a cooperation programme, which will benefit from the strengths of the two partners, based on their knowledge about chemicals.

The agreement is signed for an initial period of three years, and may be prolonged.

When signing the statement Geert Dancet, Executive Director of ECHA, said "this agreement is bringing together the scientific and regulatory capacities of  two important European organisations to the benefit of the citizens of the European Union by jointly addressing the new challenges affecting the safe use of chemicals."