Chile and the European Union confirm their commitment to protect the environment During the III Mixed Parliamentary Commission Meeting, of which both parties are members, Chile and the European Union (EU) confirmed in Santiago their commitment to strongly protect the environment. In a joint public statement, disclosed at the end of the meeting, the delegations invited their respective authorities to exchange information which should allow improving the Chilean environmental regulations. The EU also committed itself to consider the Chilean observations to REACH (Registration, Evaluation and Authorization of Chemicals), the new European chemical substances and preparations control system. The idea is to go ahead in the tests and certification endorsement of chemicals that fall under the regulations of the new system, performed outside the EU. Regarding possible European environmental and labor restrictions, senator Gabriel Valdés, Chilean delegation president, said they do not expect “any type of pressure from Europe”. “We have explained them that the Chilean environmental regulation, which is quite new, ought to be improved, that it lacks technology and Universities involvement, but they never said that they would control or punish us”, he said. Celco André Brie, the European Parliament’s delegation president, disregarded that environmental conditions in the Treaty with Chile could be harmed. He confirmed that European Parliament representatives met with Chilean colleagues to gain a deep knowledge about the questioned issues in the Valdivia Celco (Arauco) Pulp Mill, but he emphasized that it was not in the agenda. Celco has been questioned for the Natural Sanctuary pollution and the massive death of Black-necked Swans in Southern Chile. The company voluntarily stopped its operations in order to straighten up the functioning and the environmental quality of its pulp mill in Valdivia in front of the authorities, in which it invested US$ 1.2 billion. In the joint declaration, the delegations reaffirmed that free trade agreement is a people’s development tool, and that they oppose any measure that could curtail trading between both parties, directly or indirectly. They also committed themselves to study and propose solutions to the possible differences that could arise by rules that might become trade barriers, and to maintain the proper budget assignment to cooperative programs between Chile and EU. Source: LIGNUM News www.lignum.cl