Brussels Trims Chemical Labelling Burden as MEPs Vote 477–59 to Back Simplification Deal

Chemical companies will get smaller type on tiny bottles, longer deadlines to reprint labels and a partial rollback of rules adopted only two years ago, after the European Parliament endorsed a simplification package covering cosmetics, industrial chemicals and fertilisers.

The European Chemical Industry Council (VCI) welcomed the changes, which stem from the so-called Omnibus Package VI and were set out in a report dated 22 October 2026. Under the deal, labelling requirements, transition periods, advertising and distance-selling information duties and digital labelling rules are all being adjusted. In practice, parts of the 2024 CLP revision are being withdrawn or softened before they ever take effect.

Industry Sees a First Step, Not a Finish Line

VCI representative Ulrike Zimmer called the package's adoption an important step, but insisted the simplification drive cannot stop there. The association is pushing for further relief on labelling and data requirements, on existing notification obligations and at the interfaces between separate EU rulebooks. It also wants Brussels to align more closely with the global UN GHS classification system.

The parliament's approval on 22 October 2026 confirmed the political agreement reached with the Council in mid-June. The tally was 477 in favour, 59 against and 41 abstentions, after a rejection motion from the Left group was thrown out.

What Changes on the Label

Minimum font sizes now have specific figures attached. The standard x-height is set at 1.2 millimetres, while small packs holding up to 125 millilitres may use a minimum of 0.9 millimetres.

Where a substance is reclassified more strictly, firms get 15 months to update their labels. The new labelling rules apply 18 months after the regulation enters into force; obligations on digital contact information carry a 36-month deadline.

Cosmetics: Exit Timetables for CMR Substances

The omnibus also rewrites transition periods for phasing out carcinogenic, mutagenic or toxic-for-reproduction (CMR) substances in cosmetics. Once a substance is classified, companies have 6 months to stop placing products on the market and 12 months before those products must be entirely unavailable in shops.

Derogation requests must be filed within 3 months of a reclassification. If a request is refused on safety grounds, deadlines of 3 and 9 months apply; where an alternative exists, the figures are 24 and 36 months for categories 1A and 1B respectively.

For fertilisers, the REACH registration requirement stays in place for substances classified as harmonised particularly harmful.

Savings Put at €363 Million a Year

European Commission calculations put the relief for the sector at no less than €363 million in annual savings. The affected industry spans roughly 29,000 companies with 1.2 million direct jobs and a further 19 million workers along supply chains.

In the chamber, the EPP group stressed that the general ban on carcinogenic substances in cosmetics remains in force without exceptions on exposure grounds, and that scientific experts stay involved.

Dimitris Tsiodras of the EPP said the package makes it easier for companies to do business without lowering safety standards, while Salvatore De Meo argued that clear labelling benefits consumers and operators alike.

Socialists Draw Their Own Red Lines

S&D members said they had secured stricter protections against more far-reaching deregulation proposals. Lead negotiator Kristian Vigenin stressed that simplification must not come at the expense of human health, and Idoia Mendia pointed to consumers' fundamental right to transparency about what products contain.

The ECR group welcomed the reduction in EU bureaucracy and the more proportionate transition periods for small and medium-sized businesses. Piotr Müller highlighted lower compliance costs without endangering essential safety standards, while Pietro Fiocchi remarked that better regulation should not be equated with weaker regulation.