Proposal for a Council Regulation amending Regulation (EC) No 850/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council on persistent organic pollutants as regards Annex I

The substance hexabromocyclododecane (HBCDD) was listed in Annex A to the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants ('the Convention') at the sixth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to that Convention in 2013.

Pursuant to Article 14(1) of Regulation (EC) No 850/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on persistent organic pollutants, HBCDD should subsequently be listed in Annex I to that Regulation in order to implement in the Union the prohibition on production, use and import of that substance. Accordingly, the Commission submitted a draft Regulation for vote to the Committee established by Article 29 of Directive 67/548/EEC. The Committee did not deliver an opinion on the draft Regulation in its meeting on 26 May 2015.

The main concern raised by some Member States was the level proposed in the draft Regulation for the substance, HBCDD, to be regarded as an unintentional trace contaminant (UTC). The Commission took note of this concern, however, it maintains and refers the same legal proposal to the Council on the basis that the Commission already proposed a compromise during that Committee Meeting on 26 May 2015. In place of an UTC level of 10 mg/kg, as was originally included in the Commission's draft Regulation, an UTC level of 100 mg/kg was proposed to Member States during the Committee Meeting and this level is maintained in the Commission's proposal to the Council.

Thus, in accordance with the procedure set out in Article 5a of Decision 1999/468/EC, a Proposal for a Council Regulation is submitted to the Council and forwarded to the European Parliament.

EUR-Lex: COM(2015)409: Follow the progress of this proposal through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2015:409:FIN

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