Shifting priorities of European chemicals regulations

During the 2019–2024 EU Commission, policy was guided strongly by an “environment-first” approach, anchored in the European Green Deal. The Green Deal set out the ambition for Europe to become the first climate-neutral continent by 2050, with policies spanning renewable energy, biodiversity protection, sustainable mobility, and a fundamental transformation of industrial processes. Its emphasis was on sustainability, decarbonization, and phasing out harmful practices across the economy.

However, the past several years have brought a series of disruptive events that challenged both European society and industry. The COVID-19 pandemic exposed vulnerabilities in supply chains and public health systems, while the energy crisis and soaring energy costs, driven in part by geopolitical tensions such as the war in Ukraine, put unprecedented pressure on competitiveness and business continuity. Industry stakeholders raised concerns that while environmental goals remained critical, policies also needed to ensure resilience, affordability, and economic growth.

When the current EU Commission took office in December 2024, it signaled a shift in tone. While the Green Deal remains central to the EU’s long-term strategy, the Commission acknowledged the concerns of industry and the need for a more balanced approach – one that integrates sustainability with competitiveness, innovation, and security of supply. To guide this shift, new flagship documents and initiatives are being framed as the “north star” for the EU’s work in the coming years.

Key new initiatives

Competitive Compass – A strategic framework to regularly assess Europe’s competitiveness, identifying gaps and opportunities in areas such as digitalization, energy security, skills, and industrial resilience. It is meant to serve as a benchmark and roadmap for ensuring Europe can remain globally competitive while meeting its sustainability goals.

Clean Industrial Deal – A targeted plan to support the decarbonization of European industry while safeguarding its competitiveness. It emphasizes investment in clean technologies, low-carbon manufacturing, circular economy solutions, and measures to ensure European companies are not disadvantaged in global markets.

Chemicals Package – A collection of legislative proposals to update and strengthen the EU’s chemicals legislation, ensuring that products on the European market are safe, sustainable, and supportive of innovation. This package aligns with the Green Deal’s vision but also reflects industry’s call for clarity and predictability in regulation.

Chemicals Action Plan – A more detailed roadmap under the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability, setting out the specific steps to restrict or phase out the most hazardous substances, promote safer and greener alternatives, and boost the EU’s leadership in sustainable chemicals innovation.

Chemicals / Simplification Omnibus – A set of streamlining reforms to simplify the complex framework of EU chemicals law. The omnibus aims to reduce unnecessary administrative burden, clarify overlapping rules, and make the regulatory landscape more efficient without undermining safety or environmental protections.

Simplification of rules – driving competitiveness through smarter regulation

A central theme emerging in the EU’s new policy direction is simplification of rules. The Commission sees cutting back on excessive red tape and overly complex regulations as a vital lever to restore competitiveness and create the conditions for industry to thrive. Streamlined regulation provides businesses with the confidence and agility to move forward more quickly, unlocking economic growth while still respecting essential safeguards.

As highlighted in the Competitive Compass, “Simplification must be informed by an understanding of the practical operation of value chains and with a regulatory system based on trust and incentives rather than detailed control in mind.” In other words, simplification is not simply deregulation – it is about designing a system that works with industry rather than against it, reducing unnecessary burdens while maintaining trust and accountability.

This effort goes far beyond symbolic gestures. The Commission has made clear that all EU, national, and local institutions must play their part in producing simpler, more coherent rules. Future regulation is expected to be proportionate, stable, and consistent, ensuring that businesses and citizens alike can navigate requirements without confusion or undue cost. Access to EU funds and administrative decision-making should become faster, cheaper, and easier, reflecting a shift towards practical efficiency.

To operationalize this, the Commission is coordinating a comprehensive screening of existing EU legislation. The goal is to identify opportunities to simplify, consolidate, and streamline rules wherever efficiencies can be gained. Importantly, this will not be a top-down exercise. The Commission has committed to holding biannual implementation dialogues with stakeholders, from industry to NGOs, to “stress test” existing and proposed regulations. These check-ins are designed to ensure that rules function in the real world, not just on paper.

The delicate balance needed for regulatory simplification

One of the most visible outcomes of this drive has been a series of six omnibus legislative packages. While the earlier omnibus packages dealt broadly with simplification across different policy areas, the sixth omnibus is dedicated specifically to chemicals legislation.

Within this chemicals-focused omnibus, significant changes are proposed to the Classification, Labelling and Packaging (CLP) Regulation and the Cosmetics Products Regulation (CPR). The Commission has suggested rolling back certain new CLP labelling rules, which had been criticized for being impractical and disproportionately burdensome. At the same time, the CPR revision tackles the contentious issue of automatic bans and derogation requests for carcinogenic, mutagenic, and reprotoxic (CMR) substances – an area that has sparked heated debate between regulators, industry, and civil society.

This has not been without controversy, with warnings that simplification risks becoming a cover for weakening hard-won protections. Such criticism underscores the delicate balance the Commission must strike: reducing unnecessary complexity without undermining health, safety, or environmental safeguards.

Ultimately, the simplification agenda represents more than a technical regulatory exercise. It is a test of whether the EU can design smarter, more responsive governance – one that empowers industry to innovate and grow, while maintaining the public’s trust that standards will not be compromised. If successful, simplification could become a cornerstone of Europe’s renewed competitiveness in the years ahead.