BRUSSELS, July 8, 2025 – European chemical proposals unveiled today reflect a flawed process unduly influenced by industry interests, and risk harming people’s health and the environment, according to the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL).Today, the European Commission presented its ‘European Chemicals Industry Action Plan’ and the latest in a series of simplification proposals known as the ‘Omnibus’ packages. The proposal aims to ‘simplify’ certain parts of EU chemicals regulation, particularly concerning classification, labelling and packaging, cosmetics, and fertilisers. 

This Action Plan, together with the ‘Chemical Omnibus’, is the outcome of a one-sided process: a ‘Strategic Dialogue’ held by the European Commission with the chemical industry. The process was heavily criticised because of the very limited NGO participation in the discussions and related workshops.

Giulia Carlini, Senior Attorney and Manager at CIEL’s Environmental Health Program, issued the following statement:

“Adding insult to injury, months of flawed processes resulted in a series of overlapping initiatives that risk weakening EU chemicals laws and people’s health. Under the disguise of simplifying rules, chemical proposals unveiled today hide concerning attempts to scale back on environmental and health protection. These proposals range from allowing carcinogenic ingredients in beauty products to making hazard labels harder to read, to deleting transparency measures for the use of nanomaterials. These would not be simpler rules: these attempts to cut key regulations would endanger people’s health.

“The EU has been working for years to position itself as a global leader with protective chemicals regulation. But the chemical proposals unveiled today aim to scrap EU safety standards in pursuit of unchecked profits for the chemical industry. The European Commission seems to have forgotten that it’s stronger laws that drive innovation and bring safer chemicals to market. People’s health is not for sale.”Silvia Pastorelli, EU Petrochemicals Campaigner, issued the following statement:

“Chemical regulation took a dark turn in the EU with the signing of the 2024 Antwerp Declaration — a behind-closed-doors deal between top industry players and European officials. Now, the chemical and petrochemical industry seems to have the highest levels of the European Commission on speed dial, while civil society’s access to the debate on chemicals is extremely limited.

“From this privileged position, this industry is carving out an exceptional wave of support in EU policy-making, either under the guise of simplification or by securing funds. The Chemicals Industry Action Plan is just the latest example. The European Commission pledges to help boost chemical production in Europe, while one of the reasons why parts of the industry are struggling, like in the case of plastics, is that the market is saturated and demand growth cannot catch up with production capacity. More than mapping critical molecules, the European Commission should start by asking the uncomfortable question of which industries genuinely have a role to play in the just transition.”

Media Contact

Niccolò Sarno, CIEL Media Relations (Geneva) + 41 22 506 80 37 or [email protected]