"Local and Regional Authorities (LRAs) have an important role to play in the implementation of the Chemicals Strategy, especially when taking into account their local markets knowledge, the specificities of each territory and their capacity to assess the implementation of the regulation on the ground." Adam Struzik, President of the Mazovia Region made these remarks when presenting his opinion on Safe and sustainable chemicals for a toxic-free environment in Europe's cities and regions.
The Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability – Towards a Toxic-Free Environment was published on 11 October 2020 by the European Commission. Stuzik said that the opinion of the CoR on the Chemicals Strategy is very important as it touches upon issues essential for human health, environmental protection and the economy. The CoR's opinion on Safe and sustainable chemicals for a toxic-free environment in Europe's cities and regions deem it necessary to establish a coherent and simplified legal framework for the chemicals sector to make the industry greener, more effective and more competitive. The rapporteur said "We need to look for innovative solutions, providing an opportunity for scientists to develop chemicals based on environmentally friendly raw materials." Struzik underlined that human capital is an important area in the implementation of the chemicals strategy that is why we need financial support from EU funds for the upskilling and reskilling of staff . These actions will create new economic opportunities while fostering social justice and resilience, especially in the most vulnerable regions, and will contribute to the achievement of the green transition.
The opinion outlines that the strategy should focus on creating a level playing field for all EU and non-EU stakeholders, as it is of great importance to protect the innovation and competitiveness of European businesses, in particular SMEs. Addressing the plenary session, Struzik said "Our suggestions will enable equal opportunities for all stakeholders. This will facilitate a system in which all entrepreneurs, including those from outside the EU, will be on a level playing field in terms of law to safeguard competitiveness and innovation of European enterprises." This is especially key taking into account the fact that chemical manufacturing is the fourth largest industry in the EU with 30,000 companies (95% of which are SME) and employing 1.2 million people directly and 3.6 million indirectly. Specifically on SMEs, LRAs call for requirements to be comprehensible and administratively manageable, pointing out that the fact that a lot of important information is still only available in English, which create a clear language barrier.