Brussels, 16 November 2006

Dear Madam, Dear Sir,

Euro Coop is the European Association of Consumer Cooperatives. Its primary objectives include representing to the European Union institutions the interests of consumer cooperatives and their 22 million consumer-members across 17 European countries.

We would like to share with you European consumers’ concerns about the ongoing negotiations between the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers. The last developments show that the Council wants at any price to avoid establishing a substitution mechanism that would effectively promote the development of safer alternatives and protect European citizens from hazardous chemicals. It is thereby ignoring the provisions adopted by the European Parliament in 1st Reading and confirmed recently by the Environment Committee.

Euro Coop is convinced that a robust substitution process as approved by the European Parliament, which consists of the representatives of the peoples of the States brought together in the Community, is workable and affordable for a competitive European chemical industry. On the contrary the future EU chemicals system could become a public shame if the Council position were to become law. The future EU Chemicals Agency would be required by law to authorise very hazardous chemicals even for uses where safer alternatives are readily available. This will certainly not contribute to increase citizens’ confidence in chemicals: citizens do not believe that such a text will deliver the health and environment protection levels expected by them.

Consumers are becoming sceptical as they witness the way the Parliaments’ voice is ignored on most issues concerning public health and consumer rights. For this very reason, Euro Coop asks the Commission to work in favor of a strong substitution and demands that the Council listens to what the representatives of European citizens have clearly stated.

Thank you very much for you attention

Yours Sincerely,