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The European Unions (EU) new hazard classes are approaching the end of their transitional period for substances placed on the EU market and in the supply chain before 1 May 2025. Introduced by the EU Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/707, the new hazard classes cover the following properties: Endocrine disruption (ED) for human health and the environment; Persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic (PBT); Very persistent, very bioaccumulative (vPvB); Persistent, mobile, and toxic (PMT); and...

Following the April 27, 2026, European Parliament Environmental Committee announcement that the European Commission (EC) would not proceed with a legislative proposal for a comprehensive revision of the European Union’s (EU) Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) Regulation, major reforms -- such as the registration of polymers -- appear to be off the table. Technical amendments to the REACH Annexes through comitology remain possible, however, although it...

The European Commission (EC) has proposed an update to the European Union’s (EU) Classification, Labelling and Packaging (CLP) Regulation to better align with recent revisions to the United Nations’ (UN) Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS). The UN GHS is reviewed biannually by the UN’s Economic and Social Council’s Sub-Committee of Experts on the GHS to consider new scientific information and learnings from implementation exercises. Subsequent...

The European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) appears to be headed for yet another full-year delay following growing political pressure, concerns about the readiness of the European Commission’s (EC) information technology (IT) systems, and intensifying industry warnings that the current December 30, 2025, compliance deadline is becoming increasingly unrealistic. While the EC has not yet officially postponed the implementation date, the signals coming out of Brussels are...

The Council of the European Union (EU) announced on June 12, 2025, that it reached a provisional agreement with the European Parliament (EP) on the “one substance, one assessment” (OSOA) legislative package, “which aims to streamline assessments of chemicals across relevant EU legislation, strengthen the knowledge base on chemicals, and ensure early detection and action on emerging chemical risks.” The package contains three proposals: a directive concerning the re-attribution of...

The European Commission (EC) released on May 22, 2025, the identity of the countries that present a low or high risk of deforestation in producing seven commodities (cattle, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, rubber, soy, and wood) that are “the most relevant in terms of driving global deforestation and forest degradation” under the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR). The classification takes into account other criteria as listed in Article 29(4) of Regulation (EU) 2023/1115. The...

On April 22, 2024, the European Commission (EC) announced that it adopted a “Communication from the Commission: Guiding criteria and principles for the essential use concept in EU legislation dealing with chemicals.” The press release states that “[t]he overall aim of this concept is to achieve higher regulatory efficiency and predictability for authorities, investors and industry for a faster phase-out of the most harmful substances in non-essential uses, while allowing more time for the...

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) announced on June 10, 2022, that n-(hydroxymethyl)acrylamide has been added to the Candidate List as it may cause cancer or genetic defects. According to ECHA, it is mostly used in polymers and when manufacturing other chemicals, textiles, leather, or fur. Candidate List substances may be placed on the Authorization List in the future. If a substance is on that list, its use will be prohibited unless companies apply for authorization and the European...

On April 25, 2022, the European Commission (EC) published a Restrictions Roadmap under the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability (Restrictions Roadmap) that provides detailed information on all ongoing work on future restrictions under the European Union (EU) chemical legislation. The Restrictions Roadmap prioritizes group restrictions for the most harmful substances to human health and the environment, as set out in the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability (Strategy)....