EU simplification agenda will dominate chemical regulation

“We all agree we need simplification, we need deregulation,” European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said at the Copenhagen Competitiveness Summit on Oct. 1, and the European Union’s cut-red-tape agenda looks set to plow through the bloc’s chemical legislation in 2026.As the EU’s main policymaking organ, the commission is on track to adopt several omnibus packages aimed at tweaking established environmental laws to make it easier for companies to thrive, innovate, and ultimately, boost the bloc’s straggling economy.One proposal considers scrapping periodic reviews of pesticide active ingredients in order to free up administrative resources for the assessment of new substances and products.Another proposal would roll back recently adopted labeling requirements under the revised Classification, Labelling, and Packaging of Substances and Mixtures (CLP) regulation after an industry outcry over the cost of redesigning product labels. Changes to a blanket ban on substances with carcinogenic, mutagenic, or reprotoxic properties in cosmetic products are also on the cards. Regulators are considering allowing the use of such chemicals in products for use on the skin if a safety assessment proves the substances are a risk to humans only if ingested or inhaled. The European Chemical Industry Council (Cefic) says the proposals will allow chemical firms more flexibility, support investments in Europe, and reinforce industrial resilience. “The priority is smarter, more efficient implementation,” Steven Van de Broeck, Cefic’s executive director for product stewardship, says in an email. Because they are not subject to the commission’s usual scrutiny processes, the omnibus proposals are progressing speedily