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Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs

The REACH REFIT evaluation (REACH review)

The second REACH review (REACH Refit evaluation)

The Commission has published the results of the second review of REACH on 5 March. The results of Commission's assessment have been presented in a Commission report on the operation of REACH, accompanied by a comprehensive evaluation report.

Roadmap

The REACH Regulation includes the obligation for a review every 5 years to monitor progress in the achievement of its objectives. The second REACH Review, due in 2017, is being carried out in parallel with the fitness check on the most relevant chemicals legislation excluding REACH.

The REACH REFIT evaluation (REACH Review 2017) will build on the findings of the first REACH Review (published in 2013) and examine key developments since then. The REACH REFIT evaluation (REACH review 2017), is carried out in line with the principles of Better Regulation and will cover the five compulsory evaluation criteria: effectiveness, efficiency, relevance, coherence and EU added value.

The Roadmap describes in detail how the REACH REFIT evaluation (REACH Review 2017) is being carried out.

Evidence gathering

As a basis for its evaluation, the Commission will draw on a broad range of information sources, including reports from EU Member States and ECHA as well as thematic studies tendered by the Commission and carried out by external consultants. Stakeholder consultation is another important source of evidence, data and information linked to the implementation of REACH.

Stakeholder consultation

Stakeholder consultation is an important element of the REACH REFIT evaluation (REACH Review 2017). The consultation strategy provides additional details about the consultation objectives, activities and tools planned.

A public consultation was carried out to obtain stakeholders' views on the approach to the evaluation and collect any potentially missing elements. The online public consultation ran from 28 October 2016 until 28 January 2017. You can access the online publication results below.

Furthermore, a specific consultation on SME relevant issues was carried out through the Europe Enterprise Network (EEN).

SME consultation results to follow shortly.

Studies

The evidence for the REACH Review will be gathered from a large number of studies and reports.

The bigger picture and links with other on-going Commission initiatives

This evaluation takes place in parallel with the fitness check on the most relevant chemicals legislation (excluding REACH - except for the PBT/vPvB criteria), as well as related aspects of legislation applied to downstream industries and will be carried out in full coordination. There is also an on-going ex-post evaluation of 24 EU Directives in the area of health and safety at work. Together they will serve as an evidence base for the chemicals stock-taking report mentioned in the 2014 REFIT communication, and, more generally, for developing by 2018 the non-toxic environment strategy as required by the 7th Environment Action Programme.