Member State Committee

The Member State Committee (MSC) participates in several REACH processes such as evaluation and authorisation. The MSC is responsible for resolving divergences of opinions among Member States and on proposals for the identification of Substances of Very High Concern (SVHCs). The Committee provides opinions on ECHA's draft recommendation for the authorisation list (Annex XIV) and draft Community Rolling Action Plan (CoRAP) for the substance evaluation process. If an agreement is not reached within the MSC, the matter is referred to the European Commission for decision-making.

Dossier evaluation

When amendments are proposed by Member States, the MSC seeks unanimous agreement on ECHA's draft decisions on: 

  • Testing proposals
  • Compliance checks

Substance evaluation

The MSC seeks unanimous agreement on Member State draft decisions on substance evaluation when amendments are proposed on them by other Member States or ECHA. The MSC takes into account the comments of the registrants on the proposed amendments to the draft decisions based on dossier and substance evaluations. Once agreed by the MSC, ECHA finalises the decision and provides it to the registrant.

The MSC provides opinions on:

  • A draft Community Rolling Action Plan (CoRAP) prepared by ECHA for substances to be evaluated by the Member States on the basis that the substances could pose a risk to human health or the environment.
  • Proposals from any Member State to add substances on CoRAP outside the annual updates.

On the basis of these MSC opinions, ECHA adopts the final CoRAP for substance evaluation. The MSC also seeks agreement on cases where two or more Member States have expressed an interest in evaluating the same substance.

Authorisation

The MSC has an essential role in:

  • Seeking agreement on the identification of Substances of Very High Concern (SVHCs) for the candidate list of substances for potential inclusion in the authorisation list (Annex XIV) 
  • Providing opinions on ECHA's draft recommendations on priority substances for inclusion in the authorisation list.

ECHA takes into account the MSC opinion when finalising its recommendation to the Commission on priority substances for inclusion in the authorisation list.

ECHA's Executive Director's requests

On request of the Executive Director of ECHA, the MSC issues opinions relating to risks to human health and the environment on any other aspects concerning the safety of substances on their own, in preparations or in articles. 

The MSC also provides scientific support to improve the cooperation between the Community, its Member States, international organisations and third countries relating to the safety of substances, as well as active participation in technical assistance and capacity building activities on the sound management of chemicals in developing countries.

Composition

Each Member State appoints one member to the MSC for a renewable term of three years. These members may each have an alternate member appointed in a similar way. The Committee may appoint up to five additional members chosen for their specific competencies. The members may be accompanied by advisers.