There was a mix of very good news and not so good news on the pathway to zero pollution of persistent and mobile substances this month, with many updates to our regulatory watch!
France, Spain, Denmark, and Hungary oppose targeted revision of Water Framework Directive
At the Environment Council on 25 June, Member States had an exchange of views, in presence of the Commissioner for Environment, on the implementation of the Water Resilience Strategy, one year after its adoption. Under the initiative of France, the four Member States, also including Spain, Denmark and Hungary, have prepared a non-paper, addressed to the Commissioner, stating that they do not support the targeted revision of the Water Framework Directive proposed by the Commission, because the current Directive provides sufficient flexibility to carry out projects, including mining projects. During his intervention, the representative of the Danish government announced that, to protect water from pollution, the country is preparing a national ban on the use of pesticides in vulnerable groundwater recharge areas.
Member States support revision of REACH information requirements and alignment with CLP
At the Environment Council on 25 June, Member States also discussed the way forward with the revision of the REACH Regulation. The Commission reiterated its intention to present delegated acts to revise information requirements in REACH and align them with the latest revision of the CLP Regulation (in particular the new hazard classes), to integrate the Commission roadmap on animal testing into the legislative framework, and to take measures on enforcement. The Commissioner announced an upcoming European Product Act, which will provide a better legislative framework for controlling online sales.
Member States largely supported the revision of REACH information requirements and the alignment with the new CLP hazard classes (12 MS mentioned it in their intervention), as well as actions on imported products and online sales. Denmark advocated for making greater use of group restrictions to phase out problematic chemicals in consumer products and introducing a mixture assessment factor. Sweden and the Netherlands called on the Commission to deliver on the PFAS restriction. The representative from the Dutch government mentioned they are working on a national public private innovation programme aiming to accelerate the development of safe alternatives to PFAS in critical application, invest in technologies for the removal and destruction of PFAS, and create market demand so that PFAS-free solutions scale up quicker. The Netherlands also called for progress on EU innovation investments for PFAS-free solutions.
Council reintroduces the obligation for industrial installations to keep a chemicals inventory
On 24 June, the Council agreed on its position on the Environmental Omnibus (Omnibus VIII) package. The Council reintroduced the obligation for industrial installations to maintain an inventory of hazardous substances present in or emitted from the installation, obligation that the Commission had removed in its proposal from December 2025. The chemical inventory should cover at least SVHCs and substances restricted under REACH and is limited to substances present or emitted ‘in significant quantities’ (which is not defined). The Council also reintroduced the obligation to assess the environmental and health impacts of emissions of these hazardous substances and the possibilities to substitute them with safer alternatives. The Council kept the postponed deadline for the EMS to 2030. The Council also endorsed the Commission proposal to delete the SCIP database.
European Parliament’s rapporteur approves scrapping chemicals inventory and further weakens IED rules
Earlier in the month, on 16 June, the European Parliament’s rapporteur for the Environment Omnibus submitted her draft report. Contrary to the Council, she endorsed the Commission proposal to remove the obligation for installations to keep a hazardous substance inventory. She also proposed to remove the obligation for the environmental management system (EMS) to comply with relevant BAT conclusions. In addition, installations that already have an EMAS or ISO certification would not be required to have an EMS.
On the establishment of emission limit values, the rapporteur proposes to remove the requirement for national authorities to set in the permit ‘the strictest achievable ELV’ across the BAT-AEL range. In replacement, the rapporteur proposes to set ‘technically, reasonable and economically achievable emission limit values’ across the BAT-AEL range. According to the rapporteur, the current requirement is burdensome for operators as it obliges them to ‘justify on a case-by-case basis for each BAT-AEL whether the strictest end of the range is achievable’. MEPs from the ENVI Committee have until 7 July to submit amendments to the report.
European Parliament’s rapporteurs propose further weakening of rules governing pesticides
In their draft report on the Food and Feed Omnibus, published on 24 June, European Parliament’s rapporteurs from the Agriculture and Environment Committees (jointly responsible for the file) endorsed the European Commission’s proposal to make approvals of active substances used in plant protection products unlimited in time (with the exception of the most hazardous substances). In addition, they proposed to make the duration of plant protection products’ authorisations unlimited in time when they contain only active substances with unlimited approvals (while the Commission had proposed 15-year authorisations in such case). In its proposal, the Commission required the identification of active substances with unlimited approvals for which renewal procedures will be conducted. Rapporteurs changed this requirement into an option, stating the Commission may select active substances for review.
Rapporteurs also proposed to extend the duration of approvals of active substances of concern. Approvals of candidates for substitutions are extended to 15 years (instead of 7 years). For active substances approved based on derogations (because they do not meet approval criteria), rapporteurs proposed to remove the fixed duration of approvals (currently 5 years) and make them ‘approved for a limited period ensuring that those essential uses are not lost where no viable options exist’. Rapporteurs also proposed to extend grace periods for sale of products, once the authorisation is withdrawn (up to 1 or 2 years instead of 6 months). MEPs from both Committees have until 13 July to submit amendments on the report.
MEPs call for the suspension of EPR and quaternary treatment under UWWTD
On 18 June, the Parliament adopted a non-binding motion calling for a temporary suspension (‘stop the clock’) certain provisions of the Urban Waste Water Directive, the EPR provisions and of the quaternary treatment obligations and related financial obligations, until a new impact assessment is completed by the Commission. The motion requests the Commission to ‘produce a new impact assessment by the end of 2026 identifying the list of substances present in urban wastewater, verifying the costs of quaternary treatment and the attribution of responsibility to the relevant sectors […] and identifying the potential impact on the availability, affordability and accessibility of medicines’. In her response to a parliamentary question on 6 July, Commissioner for Environment Jessica Roswall however confirmed that the Commission will not take further action before the evaluation of the Directive in 2033, which will consider whether adapting the list of products covered by the EPR and revising conditions for exemptions from the EPR system are needed.
Update of REACH Restriction Roadmap: no additional work planned on PMT/vPvM substances
On 2 July, the Commission presented a revised rolling list of the REACH Restrictions Roadmap, which provides an updated overview of ongoing and planned restrictions on hazardous substances under the REACH Regulation. Planned work on PMT/vPvM substances is the same as what was presented in last year’s Roadmap: work is ongoing towards a potential future restriction of certain uses of 1,4-dioxane; and the need for further regulatory risk management measures concerning pyrazoles is under discussion.
Agreement on ECHA’s founding regulation adopted by co-legislators
A provisional agreement was reached by Council and Parliament on ECHA’s founding regulation on 30 June 2026 (text of the agreement not yet available, see press release). The agreement provides clear legal basis for ECHA’s activities, a clear task allocation, and a single autonomous budget, which will be complemented by a reserve fund capped at 10% of ECHA’s fees and charges to address fluctuations in fee revenues. It strengthens the Agency’s expert committees (RAC and SEAC) capacity by making at least one nomination by Member State to these committees mandatory. It also allows the European Parliament or member states to request scientific opinions from ECHA, after consulting with the Commission.
Upcoming consultation deadlines:
- Deadline to respond to the Call for Evidence on a water resilience research and innovation (R&I) strategy: 2 August 2026.
- Deadline to respond to the Call for Evidence on the European ocean research and innovation strategy: 2 August 2026.
More information of upcoming actions related to persistent and mobile substances
For more information of regulations under the regulatory watch, as well as a Gantt Chart of the roll out, continuously updated spreadsheet and more information, please visit https://zeropm.eu/regulatory-watch/