A recent study by an environmental organization indicates that Europe’s initiative to limit thousands of dangerous chemicals has faced significant delays. As a result, approximately 100,000 tonnes of chemicals have contaminated food, drinking water, and the environment, which could have been prevented. The report points to the European Commission’s regulatory inaction and yielding to industry influence as the primary culprits. Furthermore, the Commission has recently announced it will not move forward with revising the Reach chemicals regulation. The 2020 EU Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability emphasized the urgent need to update Reach to align with current scientific understanding.
The chemical ‘roadmap’ introduced by the European Commission in April 2022 represented the most extensive chemical control initiative globally. It identified 22 chemicals or chemical groups known for their carcinogenic, reprotoxic, and allergenic effects, proposing deadlines to limit the use of nearly all of these groups. Aimed at expediting the application of existing legislation, the roadmap effectively prohibits flame retardants, bisphenols, PVC, and all PFAS. Earlier estimates indicated that all 22 groups would face restrictions and largely exit the European market by 2030.
ClientEarth and the European Environmental Bureau have examined the regulatory status of all 22 files. They measured progress against the deadlines established in the roadmap and the commission’s legal requirement to act within three months of advice from the European Chemicals Agency (Echa).
Their findings reveal that, despite early rapid progress, the commission has ‘effectively frozen’ 14 of the 22 files. Out of these, regulation has yet to begin on seven, and the commission is primarily responsible for delaying the conclusion of seven more. Only six restrictions have been formally adopted into law. The three-month legal deadline has not been met. Delays vary from 13 to 47 months, averaging two years between Echa evaluation and the commission’s legislative proposal. The report estimates that at least 98,355 tonnes of chemical pollution may be linked to unlawful delays by the commission regarding just six of the roadmap files.
The report accuses the commission of favoring major polluters, highlighting a trend of deregulation during President Ursula von der Leyen’s second term. It also points out that the commission contends that industry stakeholders provide new information for analysis at the decision stage, which is recognized as a common industry tactic to delay progress.
‘The commission is backtracking on its own commitments, ultimately exposing itself to legal challenges,’ states ClientEarth lawyer Hélène Duguy.
Mirella Miettinen, a chemicals regulation expert at the University of East Finland’s law school, notes that the findings highlight the commission’s ‘longstanding administrative negligence’ during the decision-making process related to restricting harmful substances under Reach. ‘The report indicates that many cases have advanced through opinion-making at Echa but are currently stalled at the decision-making phase. The lack of political will from the commission and member state representatives in the Reach committee is incredibly frustrating … but the commission holds overall responsibility.’
She emphasizes that the roadmap was intended as a temporary measure for long-term planning under Reach. ‘Given the commission’s announcement not to propose a revision of [the] Reach regulation, it seems the roadmap will serve as an interim tool for the foreseeable future. Considering the inadequacies pointed out in this report, it is uncertain how effectively it will facilitate the enforcement of restrictions or promote the development of less harmful chemicals.’
The commission and the European Chemical Industry Council were contacted for their comments.