EU Regulatory Bulletin - January 2016

Data-sharing regulation under REACH published in the EU Official Journal

Further to Fieldfisher's publication on 17 December 2015, on Wednesday 6th January 2016 the Commission published in the Official Journal of the EU the Implementing Regulation 2016/9 on joint submission of data and data-sharing in accordance with Regulation 1907/2006 ("REACH"). It will enter into force on 26 January 2016, with retroactive effect.

In essence, the Regulation increases the record-keeping and administrative burden on REACH registrants. New data-sharing agreements must be drafted in compliance with the new obligations.

Retroactive effect

The Regulation applies to data-sharing agreements that are entered into before or after 26 January 2016. This is an important consequence envisaged by the legislator. Practically, it means that if a data-sharing agreement exists prior to 26 January 2016, companies should review and amend (if necessary) their data-sharing agreements to