European Chemicals Agency selects executive director

Helsinki - Geert Dancet has been nominated to the post of executive director of the European Chemicals Agency. Dancet will make a statement before the European Parliament prior to the formal appointment by the ECHA Management Board on 17 December 2007.

An economist by training, Dancet was born in 1956. He is of Belgian nationality. He will be responsible for the introduction of REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Accreditation and Restriction of Chemicals) legislation across Europe.

Dancet has served as ECHA's interim executive director since 1 June 2007. Since 1986 he has held various expert and management positions with the European Commission. Importantly he was since 2004 the Head of the REACH unit during different stages of the regulatory process leading to the adoption of the Regulation in December 2006. In that capacity, he was also in charge of preparatory activities for the creation of the Chemicals Agency and the implementation of REACH.

The term of the office of the executive director is five years. It may be prolonged by the management board once for another period of up to five years.

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Press release from ECHA

Website of ECHA