Dangerous chemicals: export and import, Rotterdam Convention provisions

The committee adopted the report by Hans BLOKLAND (EDD, NL) approving the proposal, subject to a few amendments. It sought to amend the legal basis of the proposal, arguing that Article 175(1) was more appropriate than Article 133, given that the aim of the Rotterdam Convention and therefore of the implementing regulation was essentially to protect human health and the environment. Such a change in the legal basis would entail the codecision procedure rather than the consultation procedure. It would also mean that some matters would fall within the competence of the Member States as well as of the Community, and the committee therefore adopted a number of amendments changing the relevant articles of the proposal to reflect this. The committee specified that the participation of the Community in the Rotterdam Convention was the joint responsibility of the Commission and the Member States. The Commission should primarily perform a coordinating role. For example, a Member State which imposes a national ban should provide the Commission with relevant information so that the latter can inform the Member States and notify the Convention's Secretariat. Another amendment proposed that the regulation should take into account the Stockholm Convention of 22 May 2001 concerning POPs and should therefore include these substances among the chemicals subject to export bans. Lastly, the committee specified that, because of their low benzene content and the number of movements involved, gasoline exports would be specifically excluded from the scope of the directive. �