Replacing 40 different directives with one broad band of red tape should make chemical registration faster and less cumbersome, says Franco Bisegna of the European Chemical Industry Council, a lobby group.
Mr Dowson was reported to have been the organiser of a flute band in Cumbernauld which recorded a tape in honour of Ulster Freedom Fighter member Michael Stone.
After fruitless attempts to make contact with chief executive of the band's record label Apple, Neil Aspinall, the family decided to auction the tape at Christies in London.