ZVO in exchange with EU Parliament and Commission

The surface technology and electroplating industry is significantly affected by European environmental and chemicals legislation - and developments in Brussels are becoming increasingly dynamic and complex. This makes it all the more important for the German Surface Technology Association (ZVO) to make the voice of surface technology in Europe clear and audible. Lukas Hanstein, ZVO Head of Policy, and Dr. Malte-Matthias Zimmer, ZVO Head of Environmental and Chemicals Policy, met with Jens Geier (SPD), Member of the European Parliament, the office of Andreas Glück (FDP), Member of the European Parliament, Prof. Dr. Andrea Wechsler (CDU), Member of the European Parliament, and the team of Greek MEP Dimitris Tsiodras (EPP), who has already acted as REACH rapporteur in the past and is likely to take on this role again. In addition, a background discussion was held with representatives of the European Commission's Directorate-General GROW. The main subject of the in-depth exchange was the planned REACH revision, which will become one of the EU's central political projects in the coming months.

Practical regulation for surface and electroplating technology

In all discussions, the ZVO made it clear that surface and electroplating technology, as a key technology for the industry, requires effective, practical regulation. The following points were highlighted in particular: The dramatic bureaucratization in the area of environmental and chemicals policy, the PFAS ban in its current form, which threatens the existence of the industry, the inadequate design of the environmental omnibus and the general trend towards ever-increasing regulatory density and documentation requirements for medium-sized companies. In addition, constructive solutions have already been proposed by the ZVO - for example, for the differentiated treatment of functional PFAS applications or the streamlining of reporting obligations under REACH and CLP. The feedback from the discussion partners from the European Parliament and the European Commission was consistently constructive. There is a recognizable interest in taking greater account of the industry's perspectives in the further legislative process. For ZVO members, this means that the industry's concerns have been heard and political leeway is already emerging in some areas. The ZVO will consistently continue along the path it has taken and will continue to vigorously represent the interests of surface technology at European level. The coming weeks and months will be characterized by intensive work on the REACH revision, further formats of the EU Commission and decisive committee votes in the European Parliament.