In a major simplification push, the European Union has struck a major deal on the European Commission’s “omnibus VI” package, aiming to simplify and streamline EU rules covering cosmetics, chemical classification, labelling and packaging (CLP), and fertilising products.
The deal marks one of the most significant recent efforts to cut regulatory burden while maintaining what lawmakers insist are high standards for health, safety and environmental protection.
Cosmetics: Faster phase-outs for hazardous substances
At the centre of the agreement is a tougher timetable for phasing out cosmetics containing prohibited CMR substances — chemicals classified as carcinogenic, mutagenic or toxic for reproduction.
Where companies do not seek to defend continued use of such substances, they will have six months after a ban takes effect to stop placing affected products on the market, and 12 months before they can no longer be made available. This is significantly faster than the Commission’s proposed 12- and 24-month deadlines, though still more gradual than current rules, which do not include staggered transition periods.
Firms seeking to continue using a substance will have 12 months from its reclassification to request a derogation. The phase-out clock will only begin once that request is decided.
If a derogation is refused on safety grounds, companies will have three months to stop placing products on the market and nine months before they can no longer be made available. If refusal is based on the availability of safer alternatives, the deadlines extend to 24 and 36 months.
Lawmakers also rejected a Commission proposal that would have exempted certain CMR substances based on oral or inhalation exposure. They reinstated a requirement for cosmetic products containing nanomaterials to be notified to the Commission before being placed on the market, though without the previously proposed six-month advance notification period.
To speed up substitution of hazardous ingredients, the Commission will be required to issue guidance on analysing alternatives within one year of the legislation entering into force.
Chemicals: More flexible labelling rules, clearer deadlines
Negotiators also agreed revisions to the recently updated CLP Regulation, introducing more flexible labelling rules for chemicals, including simplified labels, expanded digital labelling, and eased advertising requirements intended to reduce costs and complexity while maintaining consumer protection.
Label readability standards were tightened. Where substances are sold to the public, labels must use a font size with an x-height of at least 1.2 mm. For packages not exceeding 125 ml, the minimum x-height is 0.9 mm.
For very small containers of 10 ml or less, some label elements — though not hazard pictograms — may be provided digitally, while full hazard information must still remain on the outer packaging.
To improve legal clarity, suppliers will now have 15 months to update labels following a reclassification that results in a more severe hazard classification, replacing the earlier “without undue delay” wording.
To avoid fragmented timelines across member states, most provisions of the revised CLP rules will apply from 1 January 2028, following a postponement agreed by Parliament last year.
Fertilisers: Simplification with safeguards
On fertilising products, co-legislators agreed to simplify the EU framework to support farmers and strengthen competitiveness in the sector, while maintaining protections for human health and the environment.
While the Commission had proposed replacing extended REACH registration requirements with the standard regime, lawmakers opted to retain registration obligations for substances classified as particularly hazardous.
Political reaction
Welcoming the deal, the rapporteur for the Environment, Climate and Food Safety Committee Dimitris Tsiodras (EPP, Greece) said: "With this agreement, we have demonstrated that simplification and a high level of protection can go hand in hand.
"We have reduced unnecessary burdens for businesses, strengthened the visibility of safety information for consumers and delivered greater legal certainty for industry, while fully preserving Europe’s high standards for health and environmental protection.”
The rapporteur of the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee Piotr Müller (ECR, Poland) said: “We welcome this trilogue agreement as a meaningful step forward for European industry. Our shared goal was to cut red tape and support growth across the chemical, cosmetics, and fertiliser sectors. Could we have gone further? Certainly. There are issues we will continue to push in future reviews. But today's outcome is a genuine win for EU competitiveness.”
Next steps
The informal agreement now requires formal endorsement by both the European Parliament and the Council. Once approved, it will enter into force 20 days after publication in the EU Official Journal.
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