Press release

Commission persists with toxic chemicals deregulation, despite health warnings

20 August 2025

ClientEarth condemns the European Commission’s neglectful response to serious public health concerns over its so-called Chemicals Omnibus.

The Commission stood by its proposal to change the EU Chemicals regulation by removing enforceable requirements for legible hazard labels, leaving consumers and workers unaware of what dangerous chemicals they are handling. The proposed changes would also make it easier for industry to include carcinogenic or reprotoxic substances in cosmetics - products that we all use in our daily lives.

In July, ClientEarth and nine health and environmental organisations sent an open letter to the European Commission, highlighting legal and safety risks associated with the proposal - which does not abide by the most fundamental democratic rules of the EU. In its response to the joint letter, the Commission chose to stand by a package that weakens public protections, without a formal impact assessment or any public consultation. 

ClientEarth lawyer Julian Schenten said: “The Commission’s reply fails to address our core concerns. Weakening labelling rules, that warn consumers about hazardous chemicals, and allowing carcinogens in cosmetics will endanger health. These revisions would strip away hard-won protections that Europeans have only recently secured.”

We are especially concerned by the Commission’s continued justification of these rollbacks based on industrial competitiveness. Schenten commented: “There is nothing competitive about allowing the societal costs of increased chemical use to soar, because of a lack of proper safeguards. Long-term exposure and rising health burdens to irreversible environmental damage cannot be offset.”

ClientEarth alleges that the proposal process discloses multiple instances of maladministration within the Commission, including the absence of proper public consultation and a lack of evidence to justify rolling back key safety provisions.

Schenten added: “Ad hoc ‘Reality Check’ workshops with stakeholders are no substitute for fully inclusive and transparent public consultation. Streamlining legislation – or hiding deregulation behind euphemisms like ‘targeted technical amendments’ – must not come at the cost of public health, environmental protection, or legal integrity.”

If the proposal becomes law, it would face significant legal risks of being challenged in court. ClientEarth lawyers are calling on the Commission to withdraw their Chemicals Omnibus proposal.

ENDS

Notes to editors:

  • The European Commission’s reply can be sent on request. ClientEarth prepared a Mini Briefing on this reply detailing our concerns.

  • In July, ten health and environmental organisations sent a letter to the European Commission warning about the consequences of deregulating these dangerous chemicals. The letter was signed by the International Chemical Secretariat (ChemSec), Child Rights International Network (CRIN), Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO), ECOS (Environmental Coalition on Standards), European Environmental Bureau (EEB), Federation SEPANSO Aquitaine, Générations Futures, Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL).

  • Since the beginning of this year, the European Commission has been pushing for simplification across many different environment and climate files to boost the competitive edge of Europe. In March, ClientEarth denounced the limited stakeholder engagement in the Strategic Dialogue on the Chemicals Industry Package. With very few representatives of civil society, the high-level dialogue favoured industry’s interests. ClientEarth warned that more deregulation is unacceptable.

About ClientEarth

ClientEarth is a non-profit organisation that uses the law to create systemic change that protects the Earth for – and with – its inhabitants. We are tackling climate change, protecting nature and stopping pollution, with partners and citizens around the globe. We hold industry and governments to account and defend everyone’s right to a healthy world. ClientEarth teams in Europe, Asia and the USA work to shape, implement and enforce the law, to build a future for our planet in which people and nature can thrive together.