Rationale and Choice of Countries

To meet the aims of the strategy within the proposed timelines, agreements between Member States on chemical risk management must be reached in far shorter timeframes than in the current system. The European Commission s First Report on the Harmonisation of Risk Assessment Procedures recognises risk management as an important area of risk-related decision-making that would benefit 

15 Existing substances are defined as those substances in use within the EU before September 1981 and listed in EINECS (European Inventory of Existing Commercial Chemical Substances). Accordingly, substances not listed in EINECS are regarded as new substances and subject to a notification procedure (Section 2.2.2). 

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