Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Council Directives 92/58/EEC, 92/85/EEC, 94/33/EC, 98/24/EC and Directive 2004/37/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council, in order to align them to Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 on classification, labelling and packaging of substances and mixtures

Article 153(1)(a) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (hereinafter TFEU) stipulates that ‘the Union shall support and complement the activities of the Member States in improvement of the working environment to protect workers’ health and safety’. Under Article 153(2) of the TFEU, the Commission may propose directives which lay down minimum requirements for gradual implementation, having regard to the conditions and technical rules obtaining in each of the Member States.

On the basis of these legal provisions, an appropriate occupational safety and health framework has been adopted with a view to protecting workers’ health and safety from risks due to exposure to chemicals at the workplace. Following the adoption of Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council on classification, labelling and packaging (CLP) of substances and mixtures, in order to implement, within the European Union, the United Nations Globally Harmonised System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (hereinafter GHS), certain aspects of this legal framework need to be adapted.

Directives 92/58/EEC, 92/85/EEC, 94/33/EC, 98/24/EC and 2004/37/EC contain references to EU chemical classification and labelling legislation. If these Directives are to remain effective, they need to be aligned to the new legislation in this area. Thus, the aim of the present Directive is to update references and terminology of the five aforesaid Directives to bring them into line with the applicable EU chemical classification and labelling legislation. In doing so, no changes to the scope or level of protection provided by these Directives are required.

EUR-Lex: COM(2013)102: Follow the progress of this proposal through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2013:102:FIN

ESO: Background information: Health and Safety: Commission proposes to improve workers' protection against exposure to hazardous chemicals http://www.europeansources.info/record/press-release-health-and-safety-commission-proposes-to-improve-workers-protection-against-exposure-to-hazardous-chemicals/

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