The European Parliament and the Council of Ministers have reached a provisional agreement confirming that EU member states may apply certain exemptions from chemicals legislation where necessary for defence purposes.
The agreement is part of the European Commission’s defence omnibus package, which aims to simplify and streamline regulatory requirements affecting the European defence sector.
Under REACH, member states may already grant exemptions from certain requirements for specific substances where this is necessary in the interests of defence. However, the Commission said that these provisions are often interpreted too narrowly and are not being used to their full potential.
To facilitate the use of such exemptions, the Commission proposed in June 2025 to clarify and broaden the conditions under which they can be applied. It also proposed introducing equivalent defence-related exemptions into the CLP and the Biocidal Products Regulation (BPR).
Under the provisional agreement of 10 June, Parliament and Council endorsed the REACH-related changes but said that any exemptions must remain strictly limited to clearly defined and justified cases.
Both institutions must formally approve the agreement before it can enter into force.