NORWAY
Legal Basis
Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 (REACH) applies in Norway with the amendments and supplements that result from Annex II Chapter XV and Protocol 1 to the EEA Agreement and the EEA Agreement in general. Norwegian law has incorporated REACH through the national regulation FOR-2008- 05-30-516.
REACH Article 2 (3) constitutes the legal basis for allowing exemption(s) from the REACH regulation where necessary in the interest of defence. Exemptions based on defence interest are pursuant to national REACH regulation section 5.
Description of National Procedure
The Norwegian Environment Agency is the national competent authority pertaining to the REACH regulation (see national REACH regulation section 4, paragraph 1). The Norwegian Environment Agency and The Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority are both national competent authorities pertaining to REACH regulation title IV (see national REACH regulation section 4, paragraph 2).
The vast majority of defence exemption applications will be processed by the Norwegian Environment Agency. However, there are a few exceptions to the general rule (see section 5 of the national REACH regulation).
The competent authority may, as stated in REACH article 2 (3), allow exemptions from the regulations in specific cases for certain substances, on their own, in a mixture or in an article, where necessary in the interest of defence. The granting of a defence exemption will be considered only after the following alternative methods have been examined:
– Complying with the requirements of the REACH regulation
– Substitution of hazardous substance(s) with more benign alternatives
Any party that cannot fulfil requirements of the regulation(s) in question is responsible for applying for a defence exemption.
An exemption dossier, based on the minimum requirements listed in the “EDA Code of Conduct on REACH Defence Exemptions” and the associated annex “Framework for applying for a Defence Exemption from a requirement of REACH”, has to be produced.
The exemption dossier shall be submitted to The Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency, who reviews the application. If the Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency is of the opinion that an exemption based on a defence interest can be justified and the dossier is considered complete, the Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency will confirm the need for an exemption and forward the application to the Norwegian Environment Agency. A copy of the defence exemption application will be sent to the Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority.
When a decision has been made, the Norwegian Environment Agency sends the decision directly to the applicant, with a copy of the decision to the Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency.
The Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency is the point of contact in questions relating to applications for defence exemptions, and will provide guidance to involved parties in the application process.
It is important to note that parties may be required to apply for defence exemption(s) from the Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 on classification, labelling and packaging of substances and mixtures (CLP Regulation) and/ or the Regulation (EU) No 528/2012 concerning the making available on the market and use of biocidal products (Biocidal Products Regulation), as well as exemptions for national legislation, in addition to REACH.
Description of National Safeguard Measures
The Norwegian procedure for granting defence exemption will contain standards as good as those in the regulations where reasonably practical.
Exemptions will be time-limited and granted for a specific use.
National Bodies Involved
The Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency, Land Systems Division.
The Norwegian Environment Agency.
The Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority.
Where to File an Application
All defence exemption applications should be submitted to:
Forsvarsmateriell landkapasiteter
Postboks 800 Postmottak
2617 Lillehammer
Norway
Conditions/Procedures for Acknowledgment/Recognition of Foreign Defence Exemptions
Foreign defence exemptions will not be automatically recognized.
Number of Exemptions Granted
Total 7 defence exemptions from REACH have been granted to date.
Contact Info
Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency, Land Systems Division
E-mail: forsvarsmateriell@mil.no
Phone number: +47 915 03003
Link to national web site(s) (if any)
www.miljodirektoratet.no
www.fma.no
Last Update: 13 October 2021