In March 2023, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) delivered a lead restriction proposal to the EU Commission. ECHA has worked on that proposal since 2019.
EFTTA has been involved with the proposal for as long as that, which also enabled ECHA to receive additional input directly from companies related to the Recreational Angling Industry.
Although EFTTA supports a reduction of lead in sinkers, we recommend fine-tuning so that the industry can adapt technologically and time-wise. Our proposals have been transmitted to the Commission.
Currently, the EU Commission’s own legal, economic and scientific experts are preparing a legally binding proposal based on ECHA’s text and ‘other input’ like the one from EFTTA. Discussions with Member State authorities have been set to take off in the first half of 2024, followed by an obligatory vote.
After the committee vote, the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament have 3 months to agree or block the legal text.
EFTTA will continue following the procedure very closely.
