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Environment

Chemicals strategy

The EU’s chemicals strategy for sustainability towards a toxic-free environment

Objectives

The EU’s chemicals strategy aims to

  • better protect citizens and the environment
  • boost innovation for safe and sustainable chemicals

Actions

  • banning the most harmful chemicals in consumer products - allowing their use only where essential
  • account for the cocktail effect of chemicals when assessing risks from chemicals
  • phasing out the use of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the EU, unless their use is essential
  • boosting the investment and innovative capacity for production and use of chemicals that are safe and sustainable by design, and throughout their life cycle
  • promoting the EU’s resilience of supply and sustainability of critical chemicals
  • establishing a simpler “one substance one assessment”  process for the risk and hazard assessment of chemicals
  • playing a leading role globally by championing and promoting high standards and not exporting chemicals banned in the EU

Implementation

Timeline

Previous and upcoming actions 

  1. 14 July 2023
    Proposal to ban all remaining intentional uses of mercury in the EU
  2. 19 December 2022
    Commission proposed a revised Regulation on classification, labelling and packaging of chemicals (CLP) and introduced new hazard classes
  3. 8 December 2022
    Recommendation on a framework for safe and sustainable by design chemicals
  4. 10 June 2022
    Commission clarifies definition on nanomaterials
  5. 25 April 2022
    Commission publishes REACH Restrictions Roadmap
  6. 20 January 2022
    Commission launches public consultation on REACH revision - now available in all EU languages
  7. 9 August 2021
    Commission launches public consultation on CLP revision
  8. 14 October 2020
    Publication of chemicals strategy
  9. 9 May 2020
    Publication of chemicals strategy roadmap

    For more information on the roadmap and feedback, visit here. 

  10. 11 December 2019
    Publication of the European Green Deal

Policy areas

Chemicals : EU action to ensure chemicals are safe, for health and the environment.

Circular economy : EU action to ensure chemicals are safe, for health and the environment.