1 European Commission The role of regional networks in the EU policy making process Disclaimer: This contains the personal opinions of the author and does not necessarily reflect the official opinion of the Commission. OPEN DAYS – European Week of Regions and Cities Brussels 11 October 2006 Dr. Doris Thiemann, European Commission

2 European chemicals policy as an example REACH A system for Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals, called REACH Aiming at a high level of chemicals safety and a competitive chemicals industry Based on a review of the present EU legislative framework for chemical substances Dialogue with stakeholders Following the principles of Better Regulation Evolves along the different stages of the adoption process (co-decision procedure)

3 REACH -Background and timeline Feb 2001 White Paper published May 2003 Internet consultation Aug/Sep 2003 Proposal amended Draft regulation adopted by Commission Parliament Opinion in First Reading Common Position adopted by Council Commission communication on Common Position to Parliament Sep - Dec 2006Second Reading in Parliament End of 2006Adoption of REACH?

4 REACH and Better Regulation Public consultation May 2003: Internet consultation comments received Extended Impact Assessment Strategic Partnerships: Pilot trials of REACH Avoiding unnecessary administrative burden by testing the workability of the proposal « Less red tape / more growth »

5 Stakeholders Commission ENTR ENV JRC Industry Chemical Industry Downstream users Producers of articles SMEs Retailers Member States NGOs Environmental Animal welfare ETUC Consumer associations Chemical Regions

6 Regional networks contribution to the policy making process Direct Participation to public consultation process Submitting position papers – e.g. Joint Declarations of ECRN Presidium, Milan Declaration of 3rd Congress of Chemical Regions Invitations to General Assemblies / conferences – Annual Congress of Chemical Regions Meetings with Commission representatives – Regional Partnership meetings and ECRN Work meetings Informal networking Indirect Committee of the Regions – 3 communications on REACH (Braghin, Sears) Strategic Partnerships and Expert Groups – SPORT and SHERPER

7 SPORT – a case study example of interaction with ECRN 3 Commission services (ENTR, ENV, JRC), 3 Commission services (ENTR, ENV, JRC), 4 industry coalition partners (Cefic, UNICE, UEAPME, DUCC), 4 industry coalition partners (Cefic, UNICE, UEAPME, DUCC), 9 Member States (AT, DE, FI, FR, IT, NL, SE, SK, UK) and 9 Member States (AT, DE, FI, FR, IT, NL, SE, SK, UK) and 5 Observers (ETUC, EEB, WWF, Greenpeace, ECRN) 5 Observers (ETUC, EEB, WWF, Greenpeace, ECRN) SPORT stands for Strategic Partnership on REACH testing and is a partnership between: The project was proposed by Cefic and conducted between September 2004 and June 2005.

8 Commissions attitude to the lobbying process Open – Transparent – Fair Permanent dialogue with Stakeholders Stakeholders team in the REACH unit Proactive Public consultation SMEs Welcomes contributions As early as possible Relevant to the subject Concrete

9 Conclusion Lobbying approach : ECRN is a European stakeholder for regional issues of the chemical industry Tailor made lobbying: Resources Timeline Type of contribution Position paper, detailed amendments, technical expertise Lobbying strategy: Right message - Right moment - Right contact