European Union1
Reservations:
On 27 April 2007, the European Community informed the Secretary-General of its decision to withdraw the reservation made upon approval to the Convention (see United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 2105, p. 575 for the text of the reservation) and replace it with the following reservation:
"The Member States of the European Community, in their mutual relations, will apply the Convention in accordance with the Community's internal rules. The Community therefore reserves the right as concerns the threshold quantities mentioned in Annex I, Part I, Nos. 4, 5, and 6 to the Convention, to apply threshold quantities of 100 tonnes for bromine (very toxic substance), 5000 tonnes for methanol (toxic substance) and 2000 tonnes for oxygen (oxidising substance)."
Declaration:
“In accordance with the EC Treaty, the objectives and principles of the Community’s environmental policy are, in particular, to preserve and protect the quality of the environment and human health through preventive action. In pursuit of those objectives, the Council adopted Council Directive 82/501/EEC of 24 June 1982 on the major-accident hazards of certain industrial activities which has been replaced by Council Directive 96/82/EC of 9 December 1996 on the control of major-accident hazards involving dangerous substances. These instruments aim at the prevention of major-accident hazards involving dangerous substances and the limitations of their consequences for man and the environment and cover matters which are the subject of [the said Convention]. The Community will inform the depositary of any amendment to this Directive and of any further relevant development in the field covered by the Convention.
As regards the application of the Convention, the Community and its Member States are responsible, within their respective spheres of competence.”