Proposal for a new Directive

On 21 December 2010 the European Commission adopted a proposal for a new Directive on the control of major-accident hazards involving dangerous substances that would replace the Seveso II Directive by 1 June 2015.

The main aim of the proposal is to address the consequences to the regulation of major-accident hazard sites from changes to EU legislation on the classification, labelling and packaging of chemical substances and mixtures.

The Commission has also taken this opportunity to review the need for other changes to the Directive. It proposes no fundamental changes but aims to strengthen a number of areas such as those relating to public access to information and standards of inspection.

The Commission has also published an impact assessment of the proposals and a summary.