According to European Commission's report, risks from substances registered under REACH have significantly decreased. Companies have now registered 30,601 files with the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) describing the uses and properties of 7,884 chemical substances manufactured or placed on the market.

The European Commission published a report that shows that since the REACH regulation entered into force, the use of chemicals in Europe has become considerably safer. According to the Commission, more readily available information about chemical substances on the market and better targeted risk management measures mean that risks from substances registered under REACH have significantly decreased. ECHA received in January 2011 more than 3 million notifications for the first EU inventory of hazardous substances.

The Commission also acknowledges the costs related to the administration of REACH and their impact on SMEs. The report recommends reducing the financial and administrative burden on SMEs in order to ensure the proportionality of legislation and to assist them to fulfil all their REACH obligations. On the other hand, industry also recognizes the positive economic effects for their business.

Currently, this European institution is developing, in cooperation with Member States and ECHA, a roadmap to assess and identify substances of very high concern (SVHC). It will set out clear milestones, deliverables and the division of work between the Commission, Member States and ECHA to place all relevant known SVHC on the candidate list by 2020.