By Jeff Mason and Gerard Wynn

BRUSSELS - European Union lawmakers and governments struck a deal on Thursday over a wide-ranging draft law on toxic chemicals, putting it on track to enter force in the first part of 2007.

A negotiator for Finland, holder of the EU presidency, told Reuters the deal would have to be approved by member states and parliamentarians, but those steps were seen as a formality after weeks of talks that almost broke down on Monday.

The bill, known as REACH (Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals), was designed to make companies prove that substances in every-day products like cars, clothes or paint are safe.

"REACH is done," said Chris Davies, a member of the Liberal Democrat party and one of the negotiators.

He said he expected member states and the full parliament to sign up to the deal in the coming weeks. "It's a take it or leave it, and no one's going to leave it," he said.
A spokesman for the Finnish presidency said EU ambassadors would meet next week. A vote in the parliament is scheduled for mid-December.

Under REACH, the properties of roughly 30,000 chemicals produced or imported into the European Union would have to be registered with a central agency. Those of highest concern, such as carcinogens, would require testing and authorisation.

The chemicals industry and the US government have attacked the legislation as imposing a costly extra burden on business.

Lawmakers and member states have been discussing the bill for weeks. In October, the parliament's environment committee voted in favour of an amendment that would deny approval for dangerous chemicals if suitable alternatives exist.

That conflicted with a version of the bill supported by EU governments that would authorise some toxic chemicals if companies prove they could be adequately controlled.
The two sides bridged their differences on Thursday.

Davies said the agreement would require that persistent, bio-accumulative and toxic chemicals be removed from the market if suitable alternatives existed.

Manufacturers will also have to submit a "substitution plan" when seeking authorisation for the roughly 1,500 chemicals expected to be considered of high concern. If they can be adequately controlled, the substances will then be approved.

If a deal had not been struck before the December parliament vote, talks could have stretched far into 2007.

Davies said the deal will ensure REACH takes effect on time.

"It's supposed to come into force in April, and we wouldn't have finished conciliation by April, so it couldn't have possibly come into force then," he said.