Orders nº T-868/19 of Tribunal General de la Unión Europea, April 30, 2020

Resolution DateApril 30, 2020
Issuing OrganizationTribunal General de la Unión Europea
Decision NumberT-868/19

(Interim measures - REACH - Dimethyl ether substance - Compliance check - Commission decision - Obligation to provide certain information requiring testing on animals - Application for suspension of operation of a measure - No urgency)

In Case T-868/19 R,

Nouryon Industrial Chemicals BV, established in Amsterdam (Netherlands),

Knoell NL BV, established in Maarssen (Netherlands),

Grillo-Werke AG, established in Duisburg (Germany),

PCC Trade & Services GmbH, established in Duisburg,

represented by R. Cana and G. David, lawyers, and Z. Romata, Solicitor,

applicants,

v

European Commission, represented by R. Lindenthal and K. Mifsud-Bonnici, acting as Agents,

defendant,

APPLICATION pursuant to Articles 278 and 279 TFEU seeking, first, the suspension of operation of Commission Implementing Decision C(2019) 7336 final of 16 October 2019 on the compliance check of a registration of dimethyl ether referred by the European Chemicals Agency to the Commission pursuant to Article 51(7) of Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2006 concerning the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH), establishing a European Chemicals Agency, amending Directive 1999/45/EC and repealing Council Regulation (EEC) No 793/93 and Commission Regulation (EC) No 1488/94 as well as Council Directive 76/769/EEC and Commission Directives 91/155/EEC, 93/67/EEC, 93/105/EC and 2000/21/EC (OJ 2006 L 396, p. 1, corrigendum OJ 2007 L 136, p. 3), and, secondly, the grant of any other interim measures which the Court considers appropriate,

THE PRESIDENT OF THE GENERAL COURT

makes the following

Order

Facts, procedure and forms of order sought

1 The applicants, Nouryon Industrial Chemicals BV, Knoell NL BV, Grillo-Werke AG and PCC Trade Services GmbH, are manufacturers or importers of the substance dimethyl ether, established in the European Union, or exclusive representatives acting for non-EU manufacturers of that substance. The first applicant acts as the lead registrant for the joint registration dossier, pursuant to Article 11 of Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2006 concerning the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH), establishing a European Chemicals Agency, amending Directive 1999/45/EC and repealing Council Regulation (EEC) No 793/93 and Commission Regulation (EC) No 1488/94 as well as Council Directive 76/769/EEC and Commission Directives 91/155/EEC, 93/67/EEC, 93/105/EC and 2000/21/EC (OJ 2006 L 396, p. 1, corrigendum OJ 2007 L 136, p. 3, ‘the REACH Regulation’).

2 Dimethyl ether is an aerosol propellant and a solvent, used mainly in industrial and consumer aerosol products, including in pharmaceutical applications. Other industrial applications include its use as a chemical building block for another substance (dimethyl sulfate), and uses in oil extraction and engine fuel.

3 In accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2008 on classification, labelling and packaging of substances and mixtures, amending and repealing Directives 67/548/EEC and 1999/45/EC, and amending the REACH Regulation (OJ 2008 L 353, p. 1), that substance is classified as ‘extremely flammable gas (H220)’ and is labelled as: ‘contains gas under pressure; may explode if heated (H280)’. It is not included in the category of hazards for human health or the environment in Annex VI to that regulation.

4 Article 10 of the REACH Regulation defines the information that must be contained in the registration dossier for a substance. In addition, Article 12 of that regulation specifies the information to be submitted by registrants depending on the tonnage of the substances manufactured or imported. As regards substances manufactured or imported in quantities of 1 000 tonnes or more per year per manufacturer or importer, Article 12(1)(e) of the REACH Regulation states that the registrant must provide as a minimum the information specified in Annexes VII and VIII and testing proposals for the provision of the information specified in Annexes IX and X to that regulation.

5 In the present case, the applicants jointly registered the substance dimethyl ether for quantities exceeding 1 000 tonnes per year. In the context of the compliance check of the dimethyl ether registration dossier, pursuant to Article 41(1) of the REACH Regulation, the Member State Committee did not reach unanimous agreement on the draft decision prepared by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA). Consequently, Implementing Decision C(2019) 7336 final of...

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT