The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) organised in cooperation with the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) the Topical Scientific Workshop on Soil Risk Assessment. Nine experts representing Albania, former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Serbia, Turkey, Kosovo took part in the workshop. It provided the IPA participants with up-to-date information on soil ecotoxicology and its relevance to the regulatory work under REACH and the biocidal product regulation. In addition, it allowed the IPA participants to establish contacts with regulatory scientists at ECHA and experts in other participating organisations.

An Open Session for ECHA’s stakeholders took place during the 22nd meeting of the Forum for Exchange of Information on Enforcement. Twelve experts representing all seven IPA beneficiaries attended the event. The Open Session provided the participants with information on enforcement issues related to liquid laundry detergent capsules, REACH information requirements, CMRs and intermediates. National enforcement projects for example on Safe Data Sheets, awareness raising on classification and labelling as well as on substances in articles were discussed. The event allowed the IPA participants to meet and discuss with the representatives of the Forum Secretariat, its members and ECHA’s stakeholders.

Two Serbian helpdesk officers attended the HelpNet REACH workshop. It provided the participants with up-to-date information on substance identification under REACH and the 2018 Registration Roadmap. This information facilitates the provision of helpdesk advice to Serbian industry. The face-to-face contacts during the meeting are important in maintaining the working relationship between the Serbs, ECHA and Member State colleagues.

Two experts from Serbia took part in ECHA’s REACH(ing) the WSSD 2020 goals Workshop. The participants explored how the current implementation of REACH and CLP can be further improved and how the consistency and synergies of the regulatory processes can be enhanced. The workshop also explored actions that could increase the overall contribution of REACH and CLP to the World Summit of Sustainable Development 2020 Goal of minimising the adverse impact of chemicals. The workshop provided the IPA participants with a good opportunity to establish contacts with ECHA staff and experts in peer organisations.

Two Serbian helpdesk officers took part in ECHA’s 11th HelpNet Steering Group Meeting and HelpNet workshops. The participation provided the Serbs with information on the preparations for the 2018 REACH registration deadline and ECHA’s support to SMEs, ongoing public consultations and changes in ECHA’s regulatory processes. The CLP discussion covered pending helpdesk questions and issues related to the practical implementation of this regulation. In addition, the biocidal product regulation was discussed. The workshop information facilitates the provision of helpdesk advice to Serbian industry on the topics discussed. The face-to-face contacts during the meeting are important in maintaining the working relationship between the Serbs, ECHA and Member State colleagues.

Five experts representing Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro and Kosovo, took part in ECHA’s Topical Scientific Workshop on New Approach Methodologies in Regulatory Science. It provided the IPA participants with up-to-date information on the potential regulatory benefits arising from a fundamental change in scientific thinking. The discussed approach combines multiple lines of evidence to predict the hazard properties of a substance with new tools and techniques that facilitate the integration of scientific evidence and provision of data for regulatory needs. The workshop allowed the IPA participants to establish contacts with regulatory scientists at ECHA and with experts in other participating organisations.

Ten experts representing Albania, former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Turkey and Kosovo participated in ECHA’s eleventh Stakeholders’ Day on REACH and CLP and the ninth Helsinki Chemicals Forum (HCF), which took place back-to-back with each other. The Stakeholders’ Day focused on the 2018 REACH registration deadline and provided the participants with the latest news and updates from ECHA, European industry associations and NGOs. The HCF covered circular economy, chemicals of concern in products, perfluorinated chemicals, global data sharing and plant safety. It provided the IPA participants with a unique opportunity to hear the views of various key regulators and representatives of international organisations. The networking opportunities in these events were also an important part of the activity.

Seven experts from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey participated in ECHA’s fourth Biocides Stakeholders’ Day. The event discussed regulatory updates from the Commission and provided an overview of ECHA’s biocides activities in 2016. It also provided practical information on the union authorisation and explained the IT tool developments (R4BP and SPC editor) and enforcement of the biocidal product obligations. The day allowed the IPA participants to establish contacts with ECHA’s biocides experts and industry representatives.

In October, three HelpNet workshops took place to which the Serbian participation was financed by the project. On 4 October, the HelpNet REACH workshop in Helsinki focused on the 2018 roadmap activities, in particular, information requirements for the 2018 registration and substance identification. In addition, application for authorisation and restrictions were covered. On 17 October, the HelpNet CLP workshop in Brussels discussed topical issues on the classification and labelling of chemicals. The A.I.S.E. workshop on 18 October focused on the classification & labelling of detergents and cleaning products under CLP. The networking with industry representatives was an important part of the third workshop.

Nine experts from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo and Montenegro participated in the Open Session of the Forum-25 for ECHA’s Accredited Stakeholder Organisations. During the event, the participants learnt about the national enforcement project on car and boat products carried out in Sweden, the Forum’s experiences and recommendations for the communication in the supply chain and for the downstream user communication. In addition, the Open Session discussed the Compendium of Analytical methods and the prioritised harmonised enforcement projects. The event allowed the IPA participants to meet and discuss with the representatives of the Forum Secretariat, its members and ECHA’s stakeholders.

Two Serbian experts participated in the workshop that discussed the state of play of ECHA’s Integrated Regulatory Strategy and actions undertaken to implement it. The agenda also explored new, collaborative measures to enhance the implementation of the strategy and how the role of Member States can be strengthened in its implementation related to REACH.

Two Serbian experts attended the 12th HelpNet Steering Group Meeting, Workshops and IT tools trainings. In the Steering Group Meeting participants were updated on REACH and CLP developments including outreach activities targeting the consumers. In addition, a multilingual social media campaign to spread information on the REACH 2018 deadline was discussed. The majority of the REACH Workshop was dedicated to the preparations for the upcoming registration deadline. In the CLP Workshop attendees learnt about the state of play on ECHA’s Poison Centre project, classification of nanomaterials including harmonised classification and labelling procedure and the specific requirements for soluble packaging. The training session introduced ECHA’s new generation of IT tools that were launched in 2016.

A representative of the Serbian Inspection Department for Environmental Protection delivered a presentation on its capacities, structure, enforcement records and plans at the Forum-26 meeting. Based on the presentation, the Forum will be in the position to take a decision on Serbian participation as an observer in the future work of the Forum.

Seven experts from Albania, former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey participated in ECHA’s twelfth Stakeholders’ Day that provided the participants with an opportunity to hear the latest news on the REACH registration process. The day focused on preparing companies for the third REACH registration deadline in May 2018. The presentations covered updates from the Agency on the implementation of the REACH 2018 roadmap and case studies from industry on various aspects of the registration process. The event also discussed the management of risk in the supply chain. The speakers were experts from ECHA and companies as well as NGOs.

Five experts representing Albania, Kosovo, Montenegro and Serbia participated in ECHA’s Restriction Workshop. The objective of the workshop was to review the actual restriction process to improve its efficiency by implementing the recommendations made by the Restriction Efficiency Task Force (RETF) and the 2016 workshop on Restrictions.

Six experts from Albania, former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey took part in ECHA’s tenth Anniversary conference and the Helsinki Chemicals Forum. On 7 June 2017, the Anniversary offered the participants an opportunity to hear about ECHA’s achievements and challenges from the start of the Agency in 2007 until 2017 as well as reflected on the outlook for the future. ECHA’s partners (EU institutions, Member States, international organisations, third countries and stakeholders) also contributed with their views of the Agency during the event.

The Helsinki Chemicals Forum took place on 8-9 June 2017.Its programme included panels on: 1) What has chemical legislation done for us over the last decade; 2) The UN Sustainable Development Goals; 3) Post-2020 Global Chemicals Supply Chains; 4) Speeding up chemical assessments and 5) Substances of very high concern in products. The discussions provided the participants with up-to-date information on chemical management in different regions and at international level.

During this event, four representatives from Bosnia and Herzegovina, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo and Serbia were updated with the latest information on the implementation of the biocides regulation. The focus of the discussions was on lessons learned by companies, ECHA and the European Commission during the past year. The overall objective was to provide the authorities in the Western Balkan and Turkey with information on the roles and legal requirements of the companies exporting active substances or biocidal products to the EU.

Following the well-appreciated attendance of the Open Session of the Forum-22 and 25, five experts representing Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo and Montenegro participated in the Open Session of the Forum-28 for ECHA’s Accredited Stakeholder Organisations (ASOs). Several ASOs presented topics covering the duties of importers, the risk of withdrawal of critical substances after the 2018 registration deadline, the new test methods for upcoming REACH restrictions and the enforcement of the duty to consider alternatives to animal testing. Many ASOs joined the initiative to work with the Forum on improving the quality of the safety data sheets. For the Forum’s 10-year anniversary, several Member States presented their own national enforcement campaigns and projects, and the influence of the Forum’s enforcement practices on their own national activities was also outlined.

Seven experts representing Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Serbia and Turkey took part in ECHA’s thirteenth Stakeholders' Day on 31 January in Helsinki. The Stakeholders’ Day focused on the final tips for the 2018 REACH registrants. It also provided the IPA participants networking opportunities with ECHA staff and EU registrants. As HelpNet observers, Serbia sent two and Turkey three experts to the HelpNet REACH Workshop held on 1 February. The attendees heard about helpdesk related information on the 2018 registration deadline, REACH-IT, IUCLID cloud services for SMEs and Directors Contact Group solutions for potential registration challenges. In addition, a large Chinese consulting company that provide EU regulatory services explained the challenges Only Representatives face in complying with REACH.

Four experts representing Serbia and Turkey took part in a study visit to the Danish Environmental Protection Agency. It provided the participants with first-hand information on the functioning of a Member State Competent Authority in the implementation of REACH, CLP and BPR. The visit focused on the role of the competent authority in the regulatory processes under these three pieces of legislation, authorities’ interaction with each other and with ECHA. In addition, Danish projects on chemicals in products and enforcement topics were covered. The visit enabled the participants to establish a working relationship with the Danish authorities.

Six experts representing former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo and Montenegro participated in this study visit to the Croatian Ministry of Health in Zagreb. The objective of the visit is to provide information on how the Competent Authority in the youngest Member State in the EU has organised its work in implementing REACH, CLP and BPR. Particular attention was paid to the role of the Competent Authority in the REACH processes, interaction with other authorities in the country and with ECHA. The Croatian system for poison control centre was also explained and a site visit to a company took place on the second day of the visit.

Seven experts from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Turkey participated in this study visit to the Hungarian Ministry of Human Capacities in Budapest. The programme focused on the role of the REACH, CLP and BPR Competent Authorities in the various regulatory processes and included also presentations on the Hungarian Poison Control Centre and by a Hungarian industry association.

The workshop provided training on the role and main tasks of the Forum as well as how it works towards harmonised enforcement in Europe. Twenty-one participants representing the seven beneficiaries attended the workshop. Both participants and speakers considered the event as a success and the beneficiaries’ active participation clearly demonstrated their interest in enhancing national enforcement by learning from the EU best practice. In addition, the workshop was the first opportunity for the participating enforcement authorities to establish contacts with their peers in the other beneficiaries.

ECHA provided for two experts from each beneficiaries the opportunity to take an e-learning course called Beginner’s Guide to Toxicology. The course explained the first steps towards taking the toxicological information and using it to comply with the data requirements of REACH. In addition, the course teaches students about some of the emerging thinking about new types of risks posed by chemicals. Fourteen experts representing Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo, Montenegro and Turkey took the course.

Twenty-five experts representing the seven beneficiaries attended a two-day Workshop on Practical Risk Assessment for REACH. It focused on risk assessment duties for companies and was the second part of a series of risk assessment trainings started in 2016 by an e-learning course on toxicology. The objective was to provide the authorities in the IPA beneficiaries with practical information on the basics of risk assessment, including what the requirements are under REACH and how companies can fulfil them. The workshop included theoretical training, discussion with the trainers and a practical exercise.

ECHA’s Executive Director visited Belgrade and attended a workshop on the EU chemical legislation and its transposition to the Serbian legislation. The Slovenian-Austrian Twinning Project Further Development of Chemicals and Biocides Products Management in the Republic of Serbia organised the event. The workshop included discussions with the high-level officials of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection, the Serbian competent authority and representatives of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce.

Two ECHA staff attended a workshop in Belgrade addressing SVHC;

1) Making a presentation at the Substances of Very High Concern (SVHC) workshop itself. The event was attended by industry and organised by the Serbian Chamber of Commerce in cooperation with the Competent Authority for chemical management and a national NGO that works on chemical safety;

2) Attending a specific meeting to discuss upcoming project relating to SVHC.

Over 100 company representatives attended the workshop that covered the REACH regulatory requirements for SVHC both at EU and national level. In addition, ECHA’s support to industry and the perception of chemicals in Serbia were covered. During the project meeting the Serbians explained their plans for the SVHC project and enquired ECHA’s view on various practical aspects of the plan.