Impact Assessment in the European Union: The Example of the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH)

Abstract

The role of impact assessments in European Union decision-making has increased greatly over the past few years as a part of efforts to boost the Community’s economic performance through improvement of the regulatory environment. In the field of environmental legislation, however, such quantification and monetization efforts involve a number of theoretical and practical problems which could undermine the possibility of obtaining an unbiased outcome. This chapter examines the European Union’s environmental impact assessment practices using the example of the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH), the European Union’s new chemicals policy. As a highly significant piece of legislation the likely effects of REACH were subjected to thorough analysis by the European Commission as well as key stakeholders. It is shown that, while underpinning the expected positive overall outcome of the regulation, uncertainty involved in estimating the benefits results in limited applicability of the impact assessment’s findings in the decision-making process and contributes to the fact that REACH was finally adopted with substantially lower requirements than originally planned.