The Council has released its position on Omnibus VI, and a disagreement has emerged between its concept of “simplification” and the “real simplification” expected by industry stakeholders.
The Council of the European Union has published its stance on “Omnibus VI”, a proposal intended to streamline several pieces of chemical legislation, including the CLP Regulation (classification, labelling and packaging) and the Cosmetics Regulation. According to the Council, its approach reduces administrative burdens while maintaining a high level of consumer protection.
Additionally, in order to give companies more time to adapt to the changes, particularly because the new CLP introduces new substance classifications that could trigger cosmetic bans under Article 15 of the Cosmetics Regulation, the entry into application of the new CLP has been postponed until 1 January 2028.
From the Council’s perspective, the proposal balances simplification with consumer protection. Key elements highlighted include:
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Removal of duplicated requirements
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Maintaining the “digital-by-default” approach
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Clearer labelling rules
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“Reasonable” deadlines for withdrawing products containing CMRs
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Reintroduction of nanomaterial notification before market placement
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A more “protective” approach regarding hazardous substances in cosmetics
According to industry representatives, however, the Council’s position reduces the level of simplification initially envisaged. Cosmetics Europe considers that an opportunity has been missed to improve Article 15 on derogations, as originally proposed by the European Commission. In practice, the derogation process remains unclear and based on criteria that are extremely difficult to meet, such as proving that no alternatives to an ingredient exist. If a derogation is not granted on time, companies could be forced to withdraw products or ingredients unnecessarily.
On top of this, the transition periods of six and twelve months are seen by industry (particularly SMEs) as too short.
In summary, while the Commission had proposed a more flexible and workable approach for businesses, the Council has opted for a stricter, more consumer-protection-oriented version, which is significantly harder for industry to comply with.
For further details, you can consult the Council of the EU’s press release on Omnibus VI at the following link. You can also find the industry’s position, published by Cosmetics Europe, at the following link.