This own-initiative inquiry concerned how the European Commission decides on applications submitted by companies for authorisations of specific uses of particularly dangerous chemical substances. According to the EU Regulation on the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (the ‘REACH Regulation’), while this decision-making process is ongoing, companies that have submitted the applications within a deadline can continue using the substances in the EU. Concerns have been raised about delays in the decision-making process, which mean that such dangerous substances continue to be used.

The Ombudsman found that the systemic delays by the Commission and its consequent failure to respect statutory deadlines in the decision-making process constitute maladministration. To address this, the Ombudsman made a recommendation that the Commission revise its internal procedures to ensure that it can take swifter decisions on these applications. This would reflect the purpose of the legislation, which is to urgently phase out or control the use of particularly dangerous chemical substances. As part of this, the Commission should ensure that companies that apply for authorisations fulfil their obligation to submit applications that contain sufficient information for the Commission to decide whether the legal conditions for authorisation have been met. The Commission should also prioritise rejecting those applications that do not contain sufficient information, so they would not be able to continue to market the substances for the use in question.

The Ombudsman also took the view that the Commission fails to ensure sufficient transparency of the decision-making process. To address this, the Ombudsman recommended that the Commission publish more meaningful reports from the meetings of the ‘REACH Committee’, which approves the final decisions. These reports should be published in a timely manner, to enable the public to follow its work.