European Parliament approves simplified rules for cosmetics, chemical substances and fertilisers

On 22 October, the European Parliament approved the agreement with the Council to simplify the rules on cosmetic products, the labelling of chemical substances and fertilisers, with 477 votes in favour, 59 against and 41 abstentions. The text allows more flexible procedures for companies, while maintaining requirements on label legibility and introducing different deadlines for withdrawing cosmetics containing certain hazardous substances from the market. The Council must finalise adoption before the regulation can be published and enter into force.

In brief

Parliament approved the agreement with 477 votes in favour, 59 against and 41 abstentions. The Council must finalise adoption.

For cosmetics containing carcinogenic, mutagenic or toxic for reproduction (CMR) substances covered by a ban, the deadlines differ: six/12 months without an application for a derogation, three/nine months where safety concerns lead to a refusal, and 24/36 months in certain cases where a suitable alternative exists.

Labels of chemical products intended for the public retain minimum legibility thresholds; exceptions for small packaging and digital information are conditional.

Suppliers must update labels without undue delay and no later than 15 months after receiving assessments requiring new warnings or a more severe classification.

Fertilisers will have electronic declarations of conformity and procedures for assessing new materials, while certain obligations to register chemical substances will be retained.

The rules have different application deadlines after entry into force. The vote does not require all labels and products in shops to be changed immediately.

The text negotiated in June has thus passed the plenary vote, after Parliament established its position for negotiations in April. The measures are part of the simplification package for the chemical industry presented by the Commission in July 2025, known as Omnibus VI.

For cosmetic buyers, an important change is the timetable applicable to products containing substances classified as carcinogenic, mutagenic or toxic for reproduction, abbreviated as CMR. If no derogation is requested, the affected products may continue to be placed on the market for the first time for six months and marketed thereafter for 12 months. The deadlines start when the inclusion of the substance on the list of substances banned in cosmetics enters into force, not from Parliament's vote. They are shorter than the 12- and 24-month periods initially proposed by the Commission.

If a company requests a derogation, the outcome of the assessment changes the timetable. Rejection on safety grounds leaves three months for placing the products on the market and nine months for continuing to market them. For category 1A and 1B CMR substances, where the derogation is refused because a suitable alternative exists, the deadlines are 24 and 36 months, and the product's safety report must be updated. These periods also begin when the ban applicable to the substance enters into force.

Applications for derogations must be submitted no later than three months after the new CMR classification enters into force. For categories 1A and 1B, continued use remains exceptional and depends both on a scientific safety assessment and on the absence of suitable alternatives. The text retains prior notification of cosmetics containing nanomaterials, without the six-month advance deadline, but also provides an exception for products complying with the conditions already laid down in the annex dedicated to restricted substances.

For chemical products intended for the public, the information on the label must remain legible. The reference height of lower-case letters, known as the “x-height”, will be at least 1.2 millimetres; for packaging of no more than 125 millilitres, a minimum of 0.9 millimetres is permitted. These thresholds do not automatically extend to all labels of products intended exclusively for industrial or professional users.

The use of digital labels will be expanded under precise conditions. For certain inner packaging whose surface area is limited by the product's function, some information may be provided only digitally; however, hazard pictograms must remain physically on the packaging, and the information required on the outer packaging or attached label must be retained. Separately, containers of no more than 10 millilitres benefit from defined exceptions depending on the hazard classification and type of packaging. Small size alone does not permit the removal of all warnings.

Suppliers will also have more time to update labels when information arises requiring a more severe classification or new warnings. The update must be made without undue delay and, in any event, no later than 15 months after receiving the results of the new assessment. The deadline does not replace the obligation to transmit information through the supply chain on time.

For fertilisers marketed in accordance with EU rules, declarations of conformity will be drawn up electronically and accessible through an internet address or a code on the product. The Commission will be able to establish criteria and methods for assessing certain microorganisms and new materials, so that their access to the market can be faster if they meet safety and agronomic-efficiency requirements. This possibility does not automatically authorise all materials and does not remove the obligations to register chemical substances laid down by the REACH Regulation, which are retained for certain particularly hazardous substances.

Application will be phased after the regulation enters into force, which is scheduled for 20 days after publication in the Official Journal. Some requirements concerning the format and updating of labels will apply after 18 months, while certain requirements concerning digital contact details and information on labels will apply after 36 months. A period of 30 months is provided for some of the documentation obligations of fertiliser producers. The rules on information displayed when cosmetics are sold online have a 12-month deadline; separate transitional provisions apply to existing stocks.

For companies, the concrete effect will be the differentiated adaptation of packaging, documents and online offers, depending on the product and obligation. For consumers, the text retains physical warnings and legibility thresholds, but also allows transition periods for some cosmetics that are due to disappear from the market. Parliament's approval does not mean that labels and products currently in shops must be changed immediately.

https://2eu.brussels/ro/news/parlamentul-european-aproba-simplificarea-regulilor-pentru-cosmetice-substante-chimice-si-fertilizanti