Key actions to be taken by the Commission

EU legislation

Indicative timing

Set up a high level roundtable with the purpose of promoting efficiency and effectiveness of chemicals legislation, boosting development and uptake of innovative safe and sustainable chemicals, and monitoring the impact of the Strategy’s actions.

2021

Innovating for safe and sustainable EU chemicals

Develop EU safe and sustainable-by-design criteria for chemicals

2022

Establish an EU-wide safe and sustainable-by-design support network

2023

 Financial support for the development, commercialisation, deployment and uptake of safe and sustainable-by-design substances, materials and products

As of 2021

Mapping safe and sustainable-by-design skills mismatches and competence gaps, and make recommendations

2021

Establish Key Performance Indicators to measure the industrial transition towards the production of safe and sustainable chemicals 

2021

Introduce legal requirements on the presence of substances of concern in products, including PFAS, through the initiative on sustainable products

(Upcoming) Sustainable products initiative

2021-2022

Initiatives and funding to promote the development of green and smart technologies, advanced materials, and innovative business models for the low-carbon and low environmental impact industrial production and use of chemicals

As of 2021

Access to risk finance, in particular for SMEs and start-ups

As of 2021

Make amendments to the EU legislation on industrial emissions to promote the use of safer chemicals by EU industry

Industrial emissions Directive

2021 E

Identify key value chains and dependencies where chemicals are important building blocks and engage with stakeholders to increase the EU’s strategic foresight on chemicals

As of 2021

Promote interregional collaboration along sustainable chemicals value chains, through smart specialisation, to accelerate the development of joint investment projects

As of 2021

Support up- and reskilling of the workforce for the digital and green transition

As of 2020

Stronger EU legal framework to address pressing environmental and health concerns

Roadmap to prioritise carcinogenic, mutagenic and reprotoxic substances (CMRs), endocrine disruptors, persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic (PBT and very persistent and very bioaccumulative (vPvB) substances,  immunotoxicants, neurotoxicants, substances toxic to specific organs and respiratory sensitisers for (group) restrictions under REACH

REACH (Comitology)

2021

Proposals to extend the generic approach to risk management to ensure that consumer products do not contain chemicals that cause cancers, gene mutations, affect the reproductive or the endocrine system, or are persistent and bioaccumulative and toxic; assess the modalities and timing to extend the same approach to further chemicals including those affecting the immune, neurological or respiratory systems and chemicals toxic to a specific organ

REACH Article 68(2)

Food Contact Materials Regulation

Cosmetic Products Regulation

Toy Safety Directive

Legislative route for other consumer products (e.g. detergents) to be identified by the impact assessment

2022

2022

2022

2022

Proposal to amend REACH Article 68(2) to include professional users

REACH

2022

Introduce mandatory legal requirements under the General Product Safety Directive and restrictions in REACH to enhance the safety of children from hazardous chemicals in childcare articles and other products for children (other than toys)

REACH (Comitology)

General Product Safety Directive

2022

2021

In the process of the upcoming Strategic Framework for Health and Safety at work, define further priorities for addressing workers’ exposure to hazardous substances, including by identifying most harmful substances for which the Commission will propose to set occupational limit following the established consultation process in the area of health and safety at work

Strategic Framework for Health and Safety at work

2021

In consultation with social partners, strengthen protection of workers, notably by proposing lowering existing occupational limit values for lead and asbestos as well as establishing a binding limit value for di-isocyanates

Chemical Agents Directive, Asbestos at Work Directive

2022

Define criteria for essential uses, taking into account the definition of the Montreal Protocol

2021-22

Proposal to amend the CLP Regulation to introduce new hazard classes on endocrine disruptors, PBTs/vPvBs and persistent and mobile substances, and apply them across all legislation

CLP Regulation

2021

Update information requirements to allow the identification of endocrine disruptors in relevant legislation, particularly under REACH, legislation on cosmetic products, food contact materials, plant protection products and biocidal products

REACH (Comitology)

Biocidal Products Regulation (Annexes)

Plant Protection Products Regulation (Commission Communications)

Food Contact Materials Regulation

Cosmetic Products Regulation

2022

2021

2021

2022

2022

Assess how best and introduce (a) mixture assessment factor(s) in Annex I of REACH

REACH (Comitology)

2022

Introduce or reinforce provisions to take account of the combination effects of chemicals in water, food contact materials, food additives, toys, detergents, cosmetics

Environmental Quality Standards Directive/Ground Water Directive  (Annexes)

Food contact materials Regulation

Food additives Commission Regulation

(Comitology)

Detergents Regulation

Toy Safety Directive

Cosmetic Products Regulation

2022

2022

2022

2022

2022

2022 

Proposal to amend REACH Article 57 to add endocrine disruptors, persistent, mobile and toxic (PMT) and very persistent and very mobile (vPvM) substances to the list of substances of very high concern

REACH

2022

Proposal to restrict PFAS under REACH for all non-essential uses including in consumer products

REACH (Comitology)

2022-24

Review of the annexes of the Environmental Quality Standards Directive and of the Groundwater Directive to add PFAS where possible as a group

Environmental Quality Standards Directive/Groundwater Directive (Annexes)

2022

Address the presence of PFAS in food by introducing limits in the legislation on food contaminants

Food Contaminants Commission Regulation

(Comitology)

2022

Proposal to revise the legislation on industrial emissions and the European Pollutant Release and Transfer Register to address emissions and reporting of PFAS from industrial plants

Industrial emissions Directive

2021

Proposal to address the emissions of PFAS from the waste stage including through the revision of the legislation on sewage sludge

Sewage Sludge Directive

2023

Proposals under the Stockholm Convention and the Basel Convention to address PFAS concerns at a global scale

2023-2024

EU-wide approach and  financial support for innovative solutions to remediate contamination with PFAS

As of 2020

Simplification and consolidation of the legal framework

Establishment of a ‘One substance, one assessment’ process to coordinate the hazard/risk assessment on chemicals across chemical legislation, through the use of a single Public Authorities Coordination Tool, an expert group and a Commission coordination mechanism

As of 2021

Horizontal proposal for reallocation of EU technical and scientific work on chemicals to the EU agencies

2022

Proposal for a founding regulation for the European Chemicals Agency

2023

Proposal to amend CLP Regulation to give the Commission the mandate to initiate harmonised classification

CLP Regulation

2021

Review of the definition of nanomaterial

2021

Proposal to revise the REACH authorisation and restriction processes

REACH

2022

Establishment of a EU repository of human and environmental health-based limit values

2022

Establishment of an open platform on chemical safety data and tools for accessing relevant academic data

2023

Horizontal proposal to remove legislative obstacles for re-use of data, to streamline the data flow across legislation and to extend the open data and transparency principles from the EU food safety sector to other pieces of chemical legislation

2023

Proposals to allow EU and national authorities to commission testing and monitoring of substances as part of the regulatory framework

2023

Development of an indicator framework on chemicals

2024

Proposal to amend REACH to introduce a European Audit Capacity

REACH

2022

Amend REACH to ensure compliance checks on all registrations of substances under REACH and to allow for the revocation of registration numbers

REACH

2022

Proposal to extend OLAF’s scope of action to investigations on the circulation of illicit chemical products in the EU

2022

Proposals for implementing acts under the Market Surveillance Regulation to set uniform conditions and frequency of checks for certain products

Market Surveillance Regulation

2022-23

Providing a comprehensive and transparent knowledge base on chemicals

Proposals to revise requirements for registration in REACH to ensure: the identification of substances with critical hazard properties, including effects on the nervous and immune systems, the move towards grouping approaches, the registration of a sub-set of polymers, information on the overall environmental footprint of chemicals, the obligation of chemical safety reports for substances between 1-10 tonnes

REACH

2022

Develop a strategic research and innovation agenda for chemicals

2022

Fund EU-wide human and environmental (bio)monitoring

As of 2020

Establish an EU Chemical Early Warning and Action System

2023

Provide a model inspiring chemicals management globally

Initiatives with international organisations and industry to promote the use of the UN GHS internationally

As of 2020

Proposal at the UN GHS level to introduce, adapt or clarify criteria/hazard classes in line with the CLP Regulation

2022-24

Support, in particular through funding, to build the capacity of third countries to assess and manage chemicals

2020-2022

Ensure that hazardous chemicals banned in the European Union are not produced for export including by amending relevant legislation  if and as needed.

2023

Promote due diligence in the sustainable production and use of chemicals in the future initiative on sustainable corporate governance

2020-2024