DIGITALEUROPE's views on upcoming proposal for EU REACH restriction of flame retardants

Executive summary

The EU REACH Restrictions Roadmap published April 2022 anticipates the European Commission’s plans to issue a mandate to ECHA in 2023 to prepare a proposal for an EU REACH restriction of flame retardants. The agenda for the CARACAL meeting on 28 March 2023 included a discussion about ECHA’s regulatory strategy on flame retardants published 15 March.

DIGITALEUROPE members have been key contributors to EU REACH since its inception. As such, we look forward to continuing to share views, experiences and concrete recommendations with all stakeholders to jointly explore how better regulation can benefit society.

DIGITALEUROPE welcomes the balanced outlook in the regulatory strategy which proposes a phased approach to addressing specific groups of flame retardants. We agree that regulations should focus on ensuring that the appropriate safe chemistry is used — the right flame retardant for the right use. In this paper, we recommend ways in which this strategy can be best implemented for electronic products.