12 October 2006 ·Friends of the Earth (Malta) see the Environment Committee vote on the new EU chemicals law (REACH) as a vital step towards protecting health and the environment from chemical contamination. The Committee strongly supported the substitution of hazardous chemicals when ever safer alternatives are available.·The vote reflects cross-party support for the substitution principle and re-confirms a decision made by the entire assembly last November, which has so far been ignored by the Council of Ministers.

It sends a strong message back to the Council that MEPs remain determined that chemicals of very high concern should be replaced with safer alternatives whenever possible. This legal obligation is essential to drive innovation of safer chemicals, in order to end the build-up of harmful substances in our bodies and the environment - one of the key objectives of REACH.·Friends of the Earth (Malta) also welcome the Environment Committee’s decision to ensure that a legally binding “duty of care” applies to all chemicals, making chemical producers responsible for the safety of their products, as well as the Committee’s backing for more information for consumers about chemicals in everyday products.·They call on Ministers and the European Commission to endorse the European Parliament’s position in discussions over the coming weeks.

Now, substitution of all the most hazardouschemicals is the only chance for decision-makers to enable REACH to improve the protection of human health and the environment beyond current legislation.·Friends of the Earth (Malta) joined other groups in a campaign that monitored the manner in which the EU chemicals law REACH was being drafted by the EU institutions.· It played a vital role in bringing the law to the forefront on the Maltese MEPs agenda by keeping them updated with developments and requesting their support in the European Parliament.· In fact a representative of FoE (Malta) was in Brussels last week specifically to lobby with Maltese MEPs on the matter.·

To this effect, we would like to thank Malta’s MEP, Mr. Joseph Muscat for his constant support to our organization, towards protecting health and environment during the past months.