Pandering to chemical industry risks public health time bomb

Today, the European Parliament adopted its mandate for negotiations with the Council on the Chemicals Omnibus, proposed by the European Commission, which covers regulations on “classification, labelling and packaging” (CLP), fertilizers, and cosmetics.

Majdouline Sbai, Greens/EFA Group MEP responsible for the file in the Environment Committee, comments:

“We welcome that the Parliament has removed the most dangerous proposal of the Commission by restoring a total ban on the use of so-called CMR substances in cosmetic products.

“But today’s vote is also an admission of weakness when it comes to protecting the health of Europeans and a step back. Granting industry one more year to put on the market products that are dangerous means one extra year of cancers, fertility problems, and disruptions to Europeans’ hormonal systems.

“Pandering to the chemical industry through deregulating risks creating a public health time bomb, which will have disastrous consequences in terms of suffering and healthcare costs.

“The EU needs to urgently ban all dangerous chemical substances in cosmetics—from forever chemicals like PFAS to CMR substances and endocrine disruptors.”

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The Greens/EFA Group welcome the improvements made by Parliament to the Commission’s proposals. In particular, regarding cosmetics legislation, they highlight the retention of the existing ban on the use of CMR substances (carcinogenic, mutagenic, and reprotoxic). However, this vote will allow manufacturers to place cosmetics containing carcinogenic substances on the market for one year after they have been recognized as dangerous, which is a failure to protect the health of Europeans.