Impact on ECHA’s regulatory decisions

Overall, it is the European Commission that takes regulatory decisions with regard to the risk management of chemical substances. Thus, for instance, the European Commission addresses REACH Authorisations to individual companies or takes decisions on REACH Restrictions of certain substances within the jurisdiction of the EU/EEA.

Our Agency is mandated to take regulatory decisions on operational duties established under the BPR, CLP, PIC, and REACH Regulations. Such decisions can grant a right to duty holders – such as the decision to assign a registration number to establish a valid REACH registration of a substance – or impose an obligation – such as to provide additional information on the properties of a specific substance, following the compliance check process.

Whenever, the Agency grants a right to duty holders, our Agency is adding a reference to the UK’s withdrawal from the EU. For instance, since November 2017, our Agency has been adding standard wording in REACH registration decisions, of which the updated current text reads as follows:

Note to registrants in the United Kingdom: The UK has notified its intention to leave the EU. As this decision on your registration only applies within the framework of the EU REACH legislation, your registration risks becoming non-existent once the UK withdrawal from the EU takes effect. ECHA advises you to regularly consult its webpages on the UK’s withdrawal at https://echa.europa.eu/uk-withdrawal-from-the-eu. There you will find updated information on the validity of registrations by UK registrants, and on any action that you may need to take to maintain access to the EU market.