The European Parliament and EU Council have reached a provisional agreement on simplifying rules related to the classification, packaging, and labelling of chemicals, cosmetics products and fertilising products.
The measures will cut red tape and compliance costs for businesses, boost the competitiveness of Europe’s chemicals industry, and keep high standards for human health and environmental protection.
The agreement simplifies rules in three areas of EU chemicals legislation: Classification, Labelling and Packaging (CLP) Regulation, Cosmetics Products Regulation, and EU Fertilising Products Regulation.
The deal simplifies labelling rules for hazardous chemicals, lowering costs for industry while ensuring users and consumers still get clear information on hazards. For business-to-business chemicals, the new legislation will eliminate obligatory font sizes on business-to-business shipments. The deal also strengthens formatting and requirements for legibility for consumer products and ensures that consumers are well informed in ads and online sales.
In cosmetics, the agreement keeps strong consumer protection while simplifying rules and reducing paperwork and costs for businesses, especially small and medium companies. Companies will now have clearer, more predictable rules when adapting to regulatory changes.
Finally, the agreement introduces changes to make fertilisers legislation more agile, helping innovative products such as microbial plant stimulants reach the single market faster. It also speeds up administrative procedures and improves access to digital tools in this area.
The Parliament and the Council will now need to formally approve the political agreement in the coming months, with a view to the legislation entering into force by the end of the year.
