Europe has put on hold plans for major revisions to its key chemicals regulations, saying the move would ‘not be helpful’ at a time when industry needs certainty and predictability.
The Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) regulations are the main European law to governing the use of chemicals across the region. It requires industry to manage the risks from chemicals and to provide safety information: for example, manufacturers and importers must gather information on the properties of their chemicals and register it in a central database.
Since 2020, the European Commission has been working on significant revisions to REACH, which were expected by the end of 2025, but it now appears this is unlikely to be delivered soon as the Commission has decided not to present a legislative proposal to amend REACH.
Jessika Roswall, European commissioner for environment, water resilience and a competitive circular economy said that the Commission has been looking at a range of options to simplify and modernise the REACH regulation. Speaking to the European Parliament’s Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, she said that means ‘addressing the uneven playing field for industry and simplifying overly complicated processes, while insuring we are protected from harmful substances like endocrine disruptors and PFAS.’
The Commission has decided ‘to not open REACH at this point’, she said.
‘At a point where we need certainty and predictability, that would not be helpful. But we also need to simplify for our companies and citizens, so instead we are looking into ways of simplification and modernisation by way of comitology,’ she said. Comitology sees the use of committees to help implement European legislation.
The Commission will put forward plans to improve enforcement regarding non-compliant products and substances, both at Europe’s borders and in terms of more effective market surveillance, she said - noting that work on all of this is still ongoing.
The German chemical industry association, VCI, welcomed the decision not to amend the REACH regulation, noting that with REACH, the EU already has one of the strictest chemical regulations in the world.
Companies need less bureaucracy and more trust in innovation, said the VCI, adding the decision to put the REACH revision on hold is an important milestone for Europe as an industrial location.
‘REACH constitutes a world-class benchmark in chemicals legislation, establishing a high level of protection for human health and the environment while fostering innovation and the responsible management of chemicals across the Union and beyond,’ the European Commission told C&I.
‘Work will continue, focusing on ways to simplify and modernise the REACH Regulation via other means, as well as improving enforcement of non-compliant products and substances shipped to the EU, both at borders and in terms of effective market surveillance,’ a Commission spokesperson said.
The UK is still in the process of implementing its own UK REACH version of the regulations (EU REACH continues to apply in Northern Ireland).
In December 2025, the UK Government confirmed plans to move the submission deadlines back, moving them (depending on tonnage bands and the hazard profile of substances) from 27 October 2026, 2028, and 2030 to 27 October 2029, 2030, and 2031.
Visit Blog