European Union

Recent intelligence indicates that the ECHA’s Risk Assessment and ECHA’s Socio-economic analysis Committees opinion on the REACH restriction proposal might be delayed until September 2025. If confirmed, a 60-day consultation could extend until November or December 2025, pushing the European Commission’s decision into 2026. Meanwhile, in early March, ECHA’s Risk Assessment Committee plans to discuss the ongoing restriction, focusing on specific product groups, including consumer products, cosmetics, and ski wax.

The European Parliament proposed a ban on PFAS in packaging through an amendment in the packaging and packaging waste regulation (PPWR), which is in the final stages before its formal adoption by the EU co-legislators. Despite initial opposition, the Council of the EU now seems to be reconsidering the possibility of including the ban. A compromise could involve prohibiting PFAS in food packaging under the PPWR while awaiting the conclusion of the process of the broader restriction under REACH, a process that will take several years.

Member States’ Developments

France: A proposed law for PFAS restriction, presented in February 2024 by the opposition Green party, will undergo parliamentary review in April 2024. The proposal targets the immediate prohibition (from January 2025) of PFAS in cosmetics, ski wax, textiles, and food packaging, with other bans deferred until 2027. The proposal also includes integrating PFAS into drinking water quality control, updating standards, and applying the “polluter-pays” principle.

Research Findings In a campaign led by European NGOs, including PAN Europe and Générations Futures, it was reported that the presence of “eternal pollutants” in fruits and vegetables had tripled in the EU over the past decade. Contamination levels, according to these NGOs, would have notably risen across the EU, with a particular emphasis on the situation in France.