31.7.2008 Official Journal of the European Union L 204/1 (Acts adopted under the EC Treaty/Euratom Treaty whose publication is obligatory) REGULATIONS REGULATION (EC) No 689/2008 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 17 June 2008 concerning the export and import of dangerous chemicals THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Commu- nity, and in particular Articles 133 and 175(1) thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, Having regard to the Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee (1), After consulting the Committee of the Regions, Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty (3, Whereas: (1) Regulation (EC) No 304/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 January 2003 concerning the export and import of dangerous chemicals (*) implemented the Rotterdam Convention on the prior informed consent procedure for certain hazardous chemicals and pesticides in international trade (*), hereinafter ‘the Convention’, which entered into force on 24 February 2004, and replaced Council Regulation (EEC) No 2455/92 of 23 July 1992 concerning the export and import of certain dangerous chemicals (°). () O] C 175, 27.7.2007, p. 40. (%) Opinion of the European Parliament of 15 January 2008 (not yet published in the Official Journal) and Council Decision of 5 June 2008. () OJL 63, 6.3.2003, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 1376/2007 (O] L 307, 24.11.2007, p. 14). * OJL 63, 6.3.2003, p. 29. () OJ L 251, 29.8.1992, p. 13. Regulation as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 300/2002 (O] L 52, 22.2.2002, p- 1). 2 In its judgment of 10 January 2006 in Case C-178/03 (Commission v Parliament and Council) (°), the Court of Justice of the European Communities annulled Regulation (EC) No 304/2003 as it was based solely on Article 175(1) of the Treaty, ruling that both Articles 133 and 175(1) were the appropriate legal bases. However the Court also ruled that the effects of the Regulation were to be maintained until the adoption, within a reasonable period, of a new Regulation founded on appropriate legal bases. That also implies that obligations that were already fulfilled under Regulation (EC) No 304/2003 do not need to be accomplished again. (3) In accordance with Regulation (EC) No 304/2003, the Commission has submitted a report to the European Parliament and the Council on the operation of Regulation (EC) No 304/2003 from 2003 to 2005. Overall the procedures have worked well. However, the report identifies a number of technical amendments that appear to be necessary. It is therefore appropriate to incorporate those elements in this Regulation. (4)  The Convention allows Parties the right to take action that is more stringently protective of human health and the environment than that called for in the Convention, provided that such action is consistent with the provisions of the Convention and is in accordance with international law. It is necessary and appropriate, in order not to weaken the level of protection afforded to the environment and to the general public of importing countries under Regulation (EEC) No 2455/92, to go further than the provisions of the Convention in certain respects. (5) As regards the participation of the Community in the Convention, it is essential to have a single contact point for Community interaction with the Secretariat and other Parties to the Convention as well as with other countries. The Commission should act as that contact point. () ECR [2006], I-107.