Anna Gergely

Director, EHS Regulatory, Steptoe & Johnson LLC

Dr Anna Gergely is Director EHS Regulatory of the International Law Firm Steptoe & Johnson LLP, based in Brussels. In a role equivalent to partner, Anna is the firm’s Principal Scientist, with a PhD in analytical chemistry and quantum chemistry, and is a registered European patent attorney.

Anna’s practise covers the well-established legal and regulatory practices of Steptoe in areas of chemicals including the REACH Regulation, agri-biotechnology, biocides, food and feed, food contact materials, medical devices and a range of consumer and industrial products, providing comprehensive capabilities for companies seeking compliance strategies that cover the full range of technical and legal needs.

In addition to the above areas, Anna specialises in nanotechnologies as related to a broad spectrum of industrial sectors. Her involvement in this field ranges from scientific and patent considerations to issues of corporate regulatory compliance and regulatory governance. Before joining Steptoe & Johnson, Anna spent nearly 15 years as scientific and regulatory advisor at other international law firms. Prior to that, she had an academic research career followed by an in-house researcher position at the Monsanto Chemical Company in Belgium. Through her academic and industry background and established career as a regulatory consultant, Anna has developed in-depth technical and legal knowledge of all the relevant regulatory areas and is widely recognised as a leading regulatory expert.

Regulatory Challenges for Wipes in the European Union

The presentation will outline the current regulatory requirements related to the placing on the market and manufacturing of wipes for different end-use applications in the European Union and will also touch upon potential future developments. The impact of the REACH Regulation and especially its provisions on the Candidate list, Authorization and Restriction procedures will be reviewed and commented on in light of the ever changing regulatory landscape for wipe manufacturers. Further, the presentation will highlight the relevant requirements in specific end-use applications falling under the cosmetics, food contact and/or biocidal products categories on EU level and discuss some national Member State requirements in the non-harmonized areas.