Bad the chemicals couldn’t be brought under appropriate emission limits… but oh dear is an 80% disappearance of market supply of an important feedstock going to hurt the already suffering supply chains of the semiconductor industry
Is this a play to drive up chip prices so that EU firms can be profitable? Or just short sighted, poorly timed bureaucratic stupidity? Generally I opt for stupidity, but...
It's probably 3M not wanting to invest in ways to control the emissions, likely because it's too expensive. This puts pressure on the Belgian government to make an exception (a Belgian specialty) or to subsidize part of the required investment.
Externalizing your costs to the public a 3M speciality.
I wouldn't call it bureaucratic stupidity to decide to ban a class of substances as we continue to find out how much more harmful they are than previously thought.