"In March 2004 the European Commission and the employers' representatives (UNICE/CEFIC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding intended to serve as a framework for further studies on the impact of the Commission's proposal to reform the European legislation on trade in chemicals (REACH), adopted in October 2003.By signing this Memorandum of Understanding, the Commission was responding to the demands of the European Council held on 16-17 October 2003, and in particular to its decision to entrust scrutiny of the REACH proposal to the Competitiveness Council. By the same token, the Commission was also acknowledging the need to investigate the potential impact of REACH on the supply chain, on innovation and on the new Member States.The studies on the supply chain and on innovation were to be entrusted to the accounting and business advisory company KPMG ; the one concerning the new Member States to the Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (IPTS), a body linked to the European Commission's Joint Research Centre. ..."

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