The Commission presented a working document accompanying the Commission communication to the European Parliament, the Council, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on the modernisation of the EU occupational safety and health legislation and policy.

The detailed ex-post evaluation of the EU acquis, checking their relevance as well as efficiency, effectiveness, coherence and EU added value, carried out by the Commission confirms that the framework meets its ambition to adequately protect workers.

Main conclusions : the evaluation concluded that the overall structure of the EU occupational safety and health acquis, consisting of a goal-oriented Framework Directive complemented by specific Directives, is generally effective and fit-for-purpose.

However, it pointed to specific provisions of individual Directives that have become outdated or obsolete , and highlighted the need to find effective ways to address new risks .

The way in which Member States have transposed the EU occupational safety and health Directives varies considerably across Member States. Compliance costs therefore vary and cannot be easily dissociated from more detailed national requirements.

As regards SMEs : the evaluation clearly concluded that compliance with the occupational safety and health Directives is more challenging for SMEs than large establishments, while at the same time the major and fatal injury rates are higher for SMEs . Specific support measures are therefore necessary to reach SMEs and help them increase their compliance in an efficient and effective way.

Next steps : the evaluation considered that occupational safety and health measures should reach the widest number of people at work, no matter the type of working relationship they are in, and no matter the size of company they work for . Compliance with occupational safety and health rules should be manageable for businesses of all sizes and effectively monitored on the ground.

Measures must be result-oriented, instead of paper-driven, and maximum use should be made of new digital tools to facilitate implementation.

Characteristics of the evaluation : this exercise also forms part of the Commission's Regulatory Fitness (REFIT) Programme with a special focus on SMEs. In this respect, the evaluation concentrated both on Framework Directive 89/391/EEC and on the other 23 directives related to it.

As regards the evaluation of Council Directive 98/24/EC on the protection of the health and safety of workers from the risks related to chemical agents at work (fourteenth individual directive within the meaning of Article 16(1) of Directive 89/391/EEC), the report concluded that an updated, simplified and quicker legal procedure for the adoption of occupational exposure limit values (OELs) could be considered.

The following issues will need to be considered:

the need to adopt values for more substances for better chemical risks management in the future, based on duly justified reasoning; the need to develop the approach taken for identifying priority substances for evaluation by the Scientific Committee on Occupational Exposure Limits (SCOEL); the simplification of the procedures to set occupational limit values at EU level could also lead to improving the management of interface and further enhance synergies between OSH and other EU requirements such as REACH and CLP; the need to consider the most appropriate approach to managing risks that may arise from exposure to reprotoxic substances; the need to consider if and how biomonitoring could be used more effectively for workplace risk management; the need to consider the potential adverse effects arising from exposure to dusts with low specific toxicity.

Lastly, the evaluation stressed the need for further EU guidelines regarding its implementation.

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SWD(2017)0010

ACT : Commission Directive 2006/15/EC establishing a second list of indicative occupational exposure limit values in implementation of Council Directive 98/24/EC and amending Directives 91/322/EEC and 2000/39/EC.

CONTENT: in implementation of Directive 98/24/EC, a second list of Community indicative occupational exposure limit values is hereby established for the chemical agents listed in the Annex.

Consequently, Member States shall establish national occupational exposure limit values for the chemical agents listed in the Annex, taking into account the Community values.

In the Annex to Directive 91/322/EEC the references to the substances nicotine, formic acid, methanol, acetonitrile, nitrobenzene, resorcinol, diethylamine, carbon dioxide, oxalic acid, cyanamide, diphosphorus pentaoxide, diphosphorus pentasulphide, bromine, phosphorus pentachloride, pyrethrum, barium (soluble compounds as Ba), silver (soluble compounds as Ag) and their indicative limit values are deleted.

In the Annex to Directive 2000/39/EC, the reference to the substance chlorobenzene is also deleted.

ENTRY INTO FORCE: 1 March 2006.

TRANSPOSITION: 1 September 2007.

32006L0015
OJ L 038 09.02.2006, p. 0036

PURPOSE : to present a communication from the Commission on the Guidelines of a non-binding nature for implementing certain provisions of Directive 98/24/EC of the Council on the protection of the health and safety of workers form the risks related to chemical agents at work.

CONTENT : Article 12 (2) of Directive 98/24/EC provides that the Commission shall draw up practical guidelines of a non-binding nature, to assist Member States, in pursuance of the Directive, in drawing up their national policies and to facilitate compliance with their regulations on the protection of the health and safety of workers, in particular as regards the topics referred to in Articles 3, 4, 5 and 6 and Annex II, section 1.

To discharge this duty, the Commission has produced guidelines which covers the following topics:

- Analytical methods for the measurement of the indicative occupational exposure limit values (IOELVs) of the chemical substances included in the Annex of the Commission Directive 2000/39/EC establishing a first list of IOELVs in implementation of Directive 98/24/EC.

- Identification, assessment and control of risks arising from the presence of hazardous chemical agents (HCAs) in the workplace.

- General principles for preventing risks related to HCAs and specific prevention and protection measures for controlling these risks.

- Medical surveillance and biological monitoring of workers exposed to lead and its ionic compounds.

In producing these guidelines the Commission was assisted by the Advisory Committee on Safety, Hygiene and Health Protection at Work, which delivered a favourable opinion on 28 June 2004.

The Advisory Committee considers that the Guidelines deal adequately with the fundamental issues as expressed in the provisions of Directive 98/24/EC mentioned above. It also believes that they will be a useful reference document for Member States to be used as tool for developing their own guidance in particular for small and medium-size enterprises.

The Commission in accordance with Article 12 (2) of Directive 98/24/EC, asks the Member States to take account as far as possible of these guidelines in drawing up their national policies for the protection of the health and safety of workers and to ensure that it is distributed as widely as possible in interested circles.

COM(2004)0819
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Directive 1998/24
OJ L 131 05.05.1998, p. 0011

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COM(1998)0162

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COM(1998)0162

OJ C 080 16.03.1998, p. 0016-0025
T4-0061/1998

T4-0061/1998

While regretting that it had taken four years to protect workers against the risks posed by chemical agents, the rapporteur was pleased that the directive clearly laid down the commitments incumbent upon employers and established procedures for Community initiatives to restrict dangerous chemical agents. In addition, Mr Blak pointed out the difficulty in establishing limit values as the reliability of measurement methods varied according to the chemical agent. Finally, he said that biological limit values should be introduced and applied only if absolutely necessary. For the Commission, Mrs Cresson firstly highlighted the political importance of the common position as the principles of health and safety protection should continue to be enhanced at Community level. According to the Commissioner, most of the amendments to the common position were real improvements. This was why the Commission could accept Amendments Nos 1, 2, 3, 4, the first part of 5, 6, 9, 11, 12, 13 and 18. However, the Commissioner could not accept the second part of Amendment No 5, which imposed on employers the requirement to record a risk assessment in a suitable form, as this measure would weaken the common position which specified that documents should be established in accordance with national law and practice. Mrs Cresson also rejected Amendment No 7 on the principle of substitution to eliminate risk and Amendment No 8 as the proposed addition went beyond the compromise reached within the Council and it would also be possible to come back to this question at the time of the five-year evaluation. Finally, Amendments Nos 10, 14 (removing the term ‘and the new findings’ from the cases requiring an adaptation of the annexes to technological progress),16 and 17 should also be rejected.

Debate in Parliament

A4-0051/1998
OJ C 080 16.03.1998, p. 0005

A4-0051/1998

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SEC(1997)1863

09564/3/1997
OJ C 375 10.12.1997, p. 0001

09564/3/1997

1974

1775

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OJ C 191 14.07.1994, p. 0007
COM(1994)0230

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COM(1994)0230

OJ C 128 09.05.1994, p. 0129-0167
T3-0245/1994

T3-0245/1994

Debate in Parliament

OJ C 128 09.05.1994, p. 0008
A3-0185/1994

A3-0185/1994

CES1169/1993
OJ C 034 02.02.1994, p. 0042

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OJ C 165 16.06.1993, p. 0004
COM(1993)0155

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COM(1993)0155