The Council of the EU adopts early non-objection to proposal to classify TiO2 while discussions continue in the European Parliament

After the European Commission’s adoption of the 14th adaptation to technical progress (ATP) of the EU’s Classification and Labelling (CLP) Regulation on 4 October, including the proposal to classify titanium dioxide (TiO2) as a suspected carcinogen (cat. 2) by inhalation (annex), the delegated act was put forward for a two months scrutiny by the Council of the EU and the European Parliament.

At the request of the European Parliament, the scrutiny period has been extended by two months meaning that the opportunity to raise an objection expires on 4 February 2020.

The Titanium Dioxide Manufacturers Association (TDMA) continues to fundamentally disagree with the proposal. TDMA believes that more proportionate and effective regulatory measures are available to address the concerns described by the RAC, such as an EU harmonised occupational exposure limit.

TDMA has consistently made our views known throughout the regulatory discussion since 2017. It is now the competence of the European Parliament and the Council of the EU to decide whether the adopted text is acceptable and within the delegated competences of the European Commission.

TDMA is monitoring the situation in the institutions and the status of the scrutiny is detailed further below.

 

Intention to raise early non-objection announced by the Council of the EU

The Council of the EU announced on 12 November its intention not to raise objections to the delegated act after discussions held in the Working Party Technical Harmonisation on 8 November 2019. This conclusion was made after 8 delegations opposed the delegated act during the discussions at the Working Party.

This means that the scrutiny of the delegated act by the Council of the EU has come to an end pending final confirmation at a Council meeting.

 

European Parliament extends scrutiny period by two months to 4 February 2020

In the European Parliament, the delegated act has been referred to the Committee for Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) for scrutiny. On 13 November, the European Parliament requested an extension by two months to 4 February 2020 to have sufficient time to perform their scrutiny.

For the European Parliament to raise an objection, it requires a majority of 376 MEPs to support the objection in the Plenary. This is a very high bar. While the scrutiny has been extended, the European Parliament can still adopt an early non-objection similarly to the Council if there is no majority in support of an objection. It is therefore possible that the scrutiny could be finalised ahead of 4 February 2020.

 

TDMA will keep stakeholders updated as we learn more about developments of relevance during the scrutiny period.

Should you have any questions or inquiries, please contact us at tdma@cefic.be.