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The European Commission is not planning to launch any new chemicals-related initiatives in 2027, instead focusing on implementing and enforcing existing legislation, according to its programme, published on 4 November.
The document appears towards the end of a year of great uncertainty over the fate of various major legislative evaluations and overhauls affecting chemicals, and a drive towards regulatory simplification.
In the document, the Commission said it would pursue measures to ensure "a strong and innovative chemicals industry in the Union" while maintaining "a high level of protection of human health and the environment".
However, the programme's annex contains no new initiatives relating to EU chemicals legislation. It also drops planned evaluations of the Cosmetic Products Regulation (CPR) and the Biocidal Products Regulation (BPR) that were included in last year's work programme.
The 2027 document is still subject to change. At a press conference today, Commissioner for Trade Maroš Šefčovič said that "just because [something] is not included in the work programme, it doesn't mean it cannot be put forward if necessary".
REACH revision
The absence of new chemicals initiatives follows the Commission's decision earlier this year to abandon a long-awaited revision of REACH. Instead, it said it would strengthen the bloc's flagship chemicals framework through targeted regulatory updates, stronger enforcement and digitalisation measures.
However, the Commission has yet to set out what amendments it intends to propose or when they will be presented, despite calls from member states, NGOs and other stakeholders for greater clarity on how it plans to strengthen REACH.
Other initiatives
Enforcement has emerged as an increasingly important part of the Commission's chemicals agenda amid concerns from regulators and member states about compliance with existing rules.
The Commission is expected to publish the European Product Act (EPA) in mid-December, setting out plans to overhaul enforcement of product safety rules and address challenges linked to third-country e-commerce and fast-moving digital supply chains.
The work programme also comes as the Commission advances measures under its competitiveness agenda, including work on critical chemicals and strategic supply chains.
Launched in 2025, the Critical Chemicals Alliance (CCA) is drawing up a list of substances considered critical, with the aim of proposing measures such as streamlined permitting, trade support and regulatory relief for production sites.
The Commission said in the work programme that it will establish a European Critical Raw Materials Corporation next year, which will work closely with the Critical Raw Materials Centre.
The lighter legislative agenda reflects broader calls from some EU leaders to reduce regulatory burdens on industry. Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni, German chancellor Friedrich Merz and Belgian prime minister Bart De Wever have urged Brussels to slow the pace of new legislation and introduce an "emergency brake" on measures they view as excessively burdensome.