Speaking to the European Parliament environment committee on 13 June, Verheugen said environmental action on REACH was misleading the public.

"This campaign claims to represent the interests of citizens who have been betrayed by the Commission and the Council. That is incorrect," he said.

He added that some elements of the campaign were "an out-and-out slander" on him personally.

Recent environmental action includes a Greenpeace poster of Verheugen feeding poison to a baby and a "Chemical Reaction" campaign asking the public to write to Brussels in support of the claim that "Commissioner Günter Verheugen must be stopped".

Verheugen's spokesman said the poison poster in particular was unfair and that the commissioner could legitimately have sued Greenpeace for defamation.

"We are not against lobbying and it is perfectly legitimate for environmental groups to campaign against things, but their actions should be based more on fact and less on rhetoric," he added.

The commissioner's main concern, however, was to put an end to the idea that the enterprise department alone was responsible for REACH.

"There is a person called Mr Dimas, the environment commissioner, who is co-responsible for REACH," said the spokesman.

During a meeting of heads of cabinet on 2 June Verheugen's team said they would co-ordinate a common approach to dealing with an anti-Commission lobbying campaign on REACH.

The spokesman would not confirm that this was a direct reference to green campaigns or could include lobbying from other interests, including industry and the US.

"Of course we are not denying that the other side also sometimes gets it wrong. The commissioner has also criticised industry for exaggerating the cost of REACH," he said.

A spokesman for Stavros Dimas said the environ-mental campaigns were "a normal part and parcel of democracy...the fact that no one is happy with it [REACH] in a way means we've found the right balance".

Anja Leetz, head of the Chemical Reaction campaign, said there were no plans to tone down environmental lobbying after Verheugen's criticism.

"There is obviously a different take from the Commission and us on howwe see reality. The NGOs will try our best to rescue what is left before REACH becomes law," she said.