Catch them ‘cause you can

The report argues that the EU's REACH Authorisation regime, designed to phase out the most hazardous chemicals, is undermined by widespread non-compliance and a lack of deterrent enforcement. It highlights that 40% of inspected companies fail to meet their obligations, yet authorities frequently rely on 'written advice' rather than dissuasive sanctions. Through case studies in France, Germany, and Spain, the document exposes a lack of transparency, with authorities often withholding enforcement data by citing commercial interests. It concludes that the European Commission and ECHA lack sufficient oversight of national enforcement, and recommends a stricter accountability framework, more frequent reporting, and the creation of public registries of infringements to incentivize compliance.

• A 2023 report from the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) found that 40% of companies across the EU do not meet their obligations under the REACH Authorisation regime, marking the highest non-compliance rate ever observed.
• Enforcement responses to REACH violations are largely insufficient and lack deterrent effect, with 'written advice' being the most common action taken against non-compliant operators.
• The European Commission has never withdrawn an authorisation due to non-compliance, despite having the legal authority to do so as the granter of such authorisations.
• In France, targeted inspection campaigns in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region revealed that 73% of inspected sites failed to meet safety regulations for managing substances of very high concern, yet only 4% of these cases resulted in administrative orders.
• German enforcement of REACH authorisations is characterized by a preference for 'soft' measures; in one study of 21 cases where enforcement measures were adopted, 17 were written notices and 5 were oral notices, while only one fine was imposed.
• Spanish authorities provide very limited transparency regarding REACH enforcement; the Ministry of Health reported that its information is limited to data from ECHA Forum projects and does not include general regional enforcement activities.
• There is a significant lack of transparency and a tendency by ECHA and Member States to withhold enforcement data, often citing the protection of commercial interests or the risk of undermining future cooperation with companies.
• The current reporting mechanism under Article 117 of REACH is inadequate because it occurs only every five years and uses aggregated, anonymised data that prevents the Commission from identifying specific violations or taking timely action.
• The report argues that non-compliance with environmental law does not constitute a protected business interest and should be subject to the principle of the widest possible public access to documents.

APA

DUGUY, H., SCHENTEN, J., TRALMAKA, I., & BECHTEL, S. (2024). Catch them ‘cause you can. ClientEarth. https://www.clientearth.org/media/g0kdht3q/catch-them-cause-you-can_report.pdf

Chicago

DUGUY, Hélène, Julian SCHENTEN, Ilze TRALMAKA, and Sebastian BECHTEL. Catch them ‘cause you can. ClientEarth, 2024. https://www.clientearth.org/media/g0kdht3q/catch-them-cause-you-can_report.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=DUGUY |first1=Hélène |last2=SCHENTEN |first2=Julian |last3=TRALMAKA |first3=Ilze |last4=BECHTEL |first4=Sebastian |title=Catch them ‘cause you can |publisher=ClientEarth |date=December 2024 |url=https://www.clientearth.org/media/g0kdht3q/catch-them-cause-you-can_report.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{duguy2024catch, author = {DUGUY, Hélène and SCHENTEN, Julian and TRALMAKA, Ilze and BECHTEL, Sebastian}, title = {{Catch them ‘cause you can}}, institution = {ClientEarth}, year = {2024}, month = dec, url = {https://www.clientearth.org/media/g0kdht3q/catch-them-cause-you-can_report.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }