The European Commission has delayed the presentation of the full chemicals package, including the omnibus law, by one week, to July 8, European media have reported.
According to a Commission draft, the so-called chemical omnibus law is to amend a total of three items. However, the package will come later than the original schedule said it would. The reason for the delay, as the Commission has explained, a tight schedule featuring the EU Climate Law and the 2040 climate target. The original the release date of the chemicals package was this coming Wednesday, 2 June.
Three laws
The EU omnibus package is a set of proposed changes to various legislative instruments, including the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), and the EU Taxonomy. These changes aim to simplify sustainability rules and address concerns about overlaps and potential conflicts between different reporting requirements.
The delay in the chemicals package presentation means that the proposals will see formal adoption later than the initial plan had it. The European Parliament and Council still need to pass the package formally before its publication in the Official Journal of the EU, by which it becomes law.
The first part of the omnibus act for the regulation of the chemical industry comprises three different laws. We already knew about the simplification of the Regulation on the Labelling of Chemical Substances (CLP) and the Regulation on Cosmetic Products (CPR). According to a draft leaked to media, the Fertiliser Products Ordinance also falls under it.
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’A concerning direction‘
For example, the registration requirement for fertiliser products is to disappear so it is in line with the EU Chemicals Regulation (REACH) on chemical safety. The CPR Regulation is to reduce “unnecessary reporting obligations” for companies and the competent authorities. The CLP Regulation currently still includes regulations on font size and line spacing of ingredients on packaging. They are to become”more flexible” in order to save effort and costs for industry, according to the draft.
The simplification proposal is taking a concerning direction for consumer protection by extending the use of cancer-causing chemicals in cosmetics. – Pelle Moos, advisor to European Consumer Organisation
The proposal, which aims to create a “more predictable and less burdensome regulatory landscape,” is part of the EU’s broader simplification agenda aimed at reducing undue burden on companies to help Europe’s businesses and boost the economy.
While European business circles broadly welcome the Commission’s simplification push this year has seen, others disagree. “The simplification proposal is taking a concerning direction for consumer protection by extending the use of cancer-causing chemicals in cosmetics,” Pelle Moos, senior advisor for the European Consumer Organisation, told Politico.
Varying explanations
The EU Commission is postponing the presentation of the chemical package, including the omnibus act, by a week to July 8. Originally, the package was to see th light of day next Wednesday. But with the EU climate law and the 2040 climate target, the Commission’s agenda was already well filled, which is why the Brussels authority decided to postpone the chemicals package.
That is what the official version says. Recent tensions inside the Commission regarding its apparent backtracking on the most burdensome parts of the green agenda, however, offer another plausible explanation. It is entirely possible that a battle similar to the one preceding the anti-greenwashing fiasco earlier this week is brewing in Brussels, causing the delay.
