Improving compliance is ECHA's key priority

Helsinki, 21 May 2019 – REACH places the burden of proof on industry to make sure that their chemicals are safe to use. By law, ECHA needs to check the compliance of at least 5 % of registrations. In 10 years of evaluation, ECHA has checked more than 2 700 dossiers for compliance. For high-volume substances, the checks cover 25 % of the substances. This has led to improved knowledge and safer use of chemicals.

However, ECHA does not have the legal mandate to revoke market access based on its compliance checks. If companies do not provide the necessary safety information, national authorities are responsible for enforcing the law.

Improving compliance with the law is our key priority. Through its annual evaluation reports, the Agency has consistently highlighted the issue of non-compliant information and given registrants recommendations on how to improve.

As a next step, ECHA is preparing an action plan with the Commission to increase our actions for compliance checks: raising the percentage of dossiers to be checked and increasing efficiency. The Agency is committed to screening all registered substances by 2027, and checking compliance of all substances that need it. This can be for several reasons – for example, substances that have hazardous properties or where more data needs to be generated to conclude a potential risk. The plan will be published before the summer.