Support to the evaluation of Regulation (EC) No 648/2004 (Detergents Regulation)

The Detergents Regulation (Regulation (EC) No 648/2004) establishes common rules designed to achieve the free movement of detergents and surfactants across the EU, while at the same time providing a high degree of protection to the environment and human health. As a regulation, it is directly applicable law in all 28 Member States (MS) of the European Union (EU) and it is also applicable to the other countries of the European Economic Area (i.e. Norway, Iceland and Lichtenstein). The Detergents Regulation has not undergone a full evaluation since its entry into force in October 2005 and so, in the context of the Commission's Better Regulation Strategy, an ex-post evaluation of the legislation is now considered vital. Thus, in December 2016, the European Commission's Directorate General for the Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (DG GROW) commissioned Risk & Policy Analysts Ltd (RPA) and Mayer Brown LLP to support its evaluation of the Regulation. It was anticipated that the resulting study (as presented in this report) would contribute to the improvement of the Regulation's implementation or feed into an impact assessment study for a possible amendment or re-cast of the Regulation. The overarching objective of the study was to assess the effectiveness, efficiency, relevance, coherence and EU-added value of the Detergents Regulation and its amendments. The study approach has comprised a detailed literature review covering inter alia market reports and databases, such as Eurostat; reports from the European Commission and authorities/agencies in the MS; academic literature and grey literature. It has also involved a wide-ranging consultation including an Open Public Consultation (OPC) for organisations and citizens, a survey designed specifically for SMEs (small and medium sized enterprises), telephone interviews with relevant organisations, targeted emails and a workshop.