Brussels, 8 July 2025 – Cosmetics Europe welcomes the Omnibus proposal announced today by the European Commission, which aims to reduce excessive administrative and compliance burdens for businesses, with no compromise on safety.
“Consumer safety is central to all aspects of our industry formulating and manufacturing cosmetics and personal care products in Europe. Safety is a non-negotiable” – said John Chave, Director General of Cosmetics Europe. “But the current regulatory framework can mean safe products coming off the market. That cannot be in the interests of competitiveness and growth or in the interest of consumers”.
“The proposed clarification and simplification of Article 15.2 of the CPR is a clear step in the right direction, streamlining processes and providing more legal certainty and predictability, with safety as priority. The existing interaction between the hazard-based CLP and risk-based CPR is a continuous challenge. CLP classification can result in automatic bans of substances that are completely safe for use in cosmetics. With the significantly increasing number of CMR harmonized classifications issued under the CLP in recent years, a workable application of bans and exemptions under Article 15 is more critical than ever”- he added.
“The industry highly appreciates proposed fixed periods for submission of derogation requests, introduction of transitional periods for compliance with new bans and restrictions under Article 15, as well as refining derogation criteria, and clarifying the approach to natural complex substances. None of these changes in any way compromises safety. These are concrete and workable adjustments that provide legal certainty and predictability to practical application of the derogation mechanism for safe cosmetic substances”.
Eliminating pre-notification of products containing nanomaterials under Article 16 is a good example of how burdensome duplication of requirements, in this case under Article 13, can be effectively eliminated, while maintaining safety through the already existing review mechanisms of the CPR. Streamlining the processes for ingredient review would reduce red tape, while meeting the same safety objective”.
The cosmetics and personal care industry calls on the co-legislators to support simplification efforts; simplification which addresses well-known and identified issues that – without providing tangible benefits for consumers – create burdens for the industry and divert resources that could otherwise be used to drive forward innovation and enhance competitiveness.
As a constructive stakeholder, Cosmetics Europe will continue to actively participate in the dialogue with EU policy makers as well as all the other involved stakeholders, to ensure that the highest level of consumer safety is upheld within a regulatory environment that genuinely encourages innovation and competitiveness.
Background information:
About Cosmetics Europe
Cosmetics Europe is the European trade association for the cosmetics and personal care industry. For more than 60 years, Cosmetics Europe has been the voice of the cosmetics and personal care industry in Europe. Our members include cosmetics and personal care manufacturers as well as associations representing our industry at national level, right across Europe. For more information, please consult: Cosmetics Europe website.
Media questions
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