MINISTERS’ DEPUTIES

CM Documents

CM(2019)40

6 February 2019[1]

1339th meeting, 6 March 2019 6 Social cohesion   6.1 European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines and HealthCare (EDQM)[2] – b. Committee for Cosmetics and Consumer Health (Partial Agreement) (CD-P-COS) Abridged report of the 2nd meeting (Strasbourg, 9 October 2018) Item to be considered by the GR-SOC at its meeting on 28 February 2019

 

 

Opening of the meeting and adoption of the agenda

1.         The Committee for Cosmetics and Consumer Health (Partial Agreement) (CD-P-COS) held its 2^nd meeting in Strasbourg on 9 October 2018.

2.         This 2^nd plenary session of the CD-P-COS was followed by a joint session for the members of the CD-P-COS and national representatives of the European Network of Official Cosmetics Control Laboratories (OCCLs).

3.         The agenda of the meeting is contained in Appendix 1. The full report of the meeting including the list of participants is available at EDQM.

List of items for information of the Committee of Ministers

4.         Thirty-two member States so far appointed their national representatives. Delegations from the following sixteen member States attended this meeting: Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Norway, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland and Turkey (“members” according to the terms of reference). Apologies were noted for eight delegations and the European Commission.

5.         Considering that there were no candidates for the post of the chair or vice-chair, the Committee accepted the procedure proposed by the Secretary, i.e. to rotate chair responsibilities and follow the order of chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers. The representative of the Finnish Ministry of Social Affairs and Health accepted to fill the post of Chair following this session.

Safe cosmetics for young children

6.         The need for updating of the publication “Safe Cosmetics for Young Children” (EDQM, 1^st edition, 2012)[3] was discussed. Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 on cosmetic products addressed the need for the protection of vulnerable population groups and ruled that a specific assessment be carried out for cosmetic products intended for use on children under the age of three. However, further instructions on how to proceed were not given in this Regulation. Several delegations of the CD-P-COS confirmed the usefulness of complementary guidance provided by the Council of Europe for manufacturers and safety assessors. Suggestions for amendments from all delegations should be submitted to the Secretariat by 28 February 2019.

Use of essential oils in cosmetics

7.         No delegation proposed any amendments to the Council of Europe publication “Guidance on essential oils in cosmetic products” (EDQM, 1^st edition 2017); however, numerous health risks were associated with the use of pure essential oils and therefore, related issues would be addressed again at a forthcoming meeting.

Safer tattooing

8.         The representative of the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) presented planned restrictions for tattoo ink components under Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 on the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH). The need for any national legislation to be aligned with the future restrictions under REACH was pointed out. In addition, ECHA had recommended setting up an EU-wide registry of tattoo inks. A compendium of analytical methods was under preparation with contributions from four member States.

Human subjects in clinical and non-clinical trials

9.         The rapporteur presented initial results of a survey amongst the delegations of the Committee on the need for protection of volunteers in cosmetic trials. Two member States had replied that national regulations were in place that referred specifically to the use of cosmetics. The Committee considered the preparation of harmonised provisions concerning human subjects in clinical and non-clinical studies, in particular, to describe the minimum age for the participation in studies, to lay down the modalities of an official approval of a written test protocol or to assign responsibilities during the study.

Council of Europe survey on intergovernmental committees

10.       Thanks were due to all delegations for their contributions to the Council of Europe’s survey on the relevance of the work of intergovernmental committees, committee effectiveness and efficiency, with a view to recommending process improvement. Responses had been collected from committees’ members to carry out an independent evaluation of the work of all intergovernmental committees, including steering committees, subordinate bodies and ad hoc committees that were included in the 2018-19 Programme and Budget.

Appendix 1

Agenda

1.             Welcome and opening of the session

2.             Declaration of interests/confidentiality

3.             Adoption of the agenda

4.             Election of the Chair and Vice-Chair/call for candidates

5.             Safe cosmetics for young children

6.             Essential oils

7.             Safer tattooing

8.             Human subjects in clinical and non-clinical trials

9.             External relations with the European Commission, Joint Research Centre and PEMSAC

10.          Any other business

11.          Dates of the next meetings

·         3^rd plenary session of the CD-P-COS: Strasbourg, 5 March 2019

·         3^rd joint session CD-P-COS / OCCL Network: Strasbourg, 5-6 March 2019