The European Commission (EC) has submitted the 9^th amendment to the Plastics Regulation, (EU) No 10/2011, to the European Parliament (EP) and European Council for a three month “scrutiny” period. The “right of scrutiny” by the EP and Council is one of the steps in the regulatory procedure with scrutiny (or Comitology) that controls how the EC implements amendments to the Plastics Regulation.

As mentioned in a previous PackagingLaw.com article, the 9^th amendment would update the Plastics Regulation’s positive list by adding four new substances and would make changes to the restrictions/uses for (butadiene, styrene, methyl methacrylate, butyl acrylate) copolymer cross-linked with divinylbenzene or 1,3- butanediol dimethacrylate.

The draft amendment and draft annex can be viewed at the links below.

• DRAFT COMMISSION REGULATION (EU) …/… amending Regulation (EU) No 10/2011 on plastic materials and articles intended to come into contact with food
• DRAFT Annex to the COMMISSION REGULATION (EU) …/… amending Regulation (EU) No 10/2011 on plastic materials and articles intended to come into contact with food

Publication of the 9^th amendment in the Official Journal of the European Union is expected in February 2018.