European Union

ECHA scientific committees on track to finalise opinions on the PFAS restriction. ECHA confirmed on 17 December that its two scientific committees, the Risk Assessment Committee (RAC) and the Socio-Economic Analysis Committee (SEAC), remain on schedule to deliver their opinions on the proposed PFAS restriction. The committees’ December meetings enabled the adoption of provisional conclusions for the final sectors under assessment, including PFAS manufacturing. Further meetings scheduled for March 2026 are expected to lead to the adoption of draft opinions. As provided for under the REACH process, SEAC will then proceed with a 60-day public consultation.

In preparation for this consultation, ECHA has published guidance for respondents together with a detailed mapping of PFAS uses identifying the sectors, uses and applications covered by the forthcoming SEAC draft opinion. The committees also continued examining a number of horizontal issues relevant to the restriction as a whole, including concentration limits, PFAS management plans, recycling and spare parts, and questions of enforceability and monitorability. Once both opinions are finalised, ECHA will be able to consolidate them and submit its final package to the European Commission, likely towards the end of 2026.

EU Member States

PFAS ban in packaging. Under Article 5 of the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), the use of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in food-contact packaging above specified thresholds will be prohibited once the relevant provisions apply on 12 August 2026, reflecting concerns over the health risks associated with PFAS exposure via packaging. To support consistent implementation and interpretation of key provisions of the PPWR, the European Commission is working on a Commission Notice (not yet publicly available) providing guidance on the regulation’s scope and practical application, including the PFAS restriction A leaked version of the Notice clarifies how the PFAS ban applies to packaging placed on the market from the date of application, confirms that both the intentional use of PFAS and their non-intentional presence (such as contamination) are covered, and addresses the treatment of existing stocks. The Commission also clarifies that no transitional period applies to the PFAS ban, meaning that the prohibition applies irrespective of whether PFAS are intentionally added or present as contaminants. The Notice itself is a Commission guidance document, without legally binding effect, intended to facilitate compliance by economic operators and enforcement by national authorities.

France

Local authorities call for State support to address PFAS pollution. More than 30 local authorities affected by contamination from PFAS have publicly called on the French government and Parliament for support, warning that they lack both the technical knowledge and financial resources to address the associated health, environmental and governance challenges. In a joint statement published on 16 December and coordinated by Amaris, the association representing local authorities dealing with industrial pollution and risk management, elected officials from municipalities of varying sizes are calling for the establishment of a parliamentary inquiry committee to assess the extent of PFAS pollution and the difficulties it creates for local authorities. Pending such an inquiry, Amaris is urging immediate action, including financial support for municipalities facing restrictions on access to drinking water, full public funding of groundwater and soil remediation, the rollout of scientific studies to improve territorial understanding of health and environmental impacts, and the deployment of appropriate monitoring tools for water, air, soil and public health.

United Kingdom

PFAS Plan’ Announced for 2026. One of the new commitments made in the UK Government’s Environmental Improvement Plan (released 1 December 2025) (“EIP”) is to “take action on PFAS through a new PFAS plan” in 2026. Three actions are associated with this commitment. Firstly, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (“Defra”) will publish a plan that sets out “a range of regulatory and non-regulatory interventions, measures and initiatives with specific actions and delivery milestones.” Secondly, the Environment Agency (“EA”) will “provide advice, guidance and tools to support the management of PFAS at contaminated sites on an ongoing basis in response to contamination becoming apparent” (noting that a separate commitment under the EIP is the publication in 2026 of a ‘State of Contaminated Land Report’). Finally, in 2027, Defra, the EA, and the Health and Safety Executive (“HSE”) will jointly decide whether to implement a UK REACH restriction on PFAS in firefighting foams (the HSE consultation on this remains open until 18 February 2026). The EIP is UK cross-governmental roadmap for improving the natural environment. It builds on the Environment Act 2021, setting out 10 overarching goals for environmental improvement. Each goal has associated commitments and actions linked to measurable outcomes. The delivery of these outcomes is a responsibility shared across government, local authorities, businesses, landowners, and communities and progress is tracked through statutory targets, interim milestones, and annual reports. Another notable commitment in the chemicals space is to “[r]eform [UK REACH] to enable protections that address chemical pollution to be applied more quickly, efficiently and in a way that is more aligned with our closest trading partners, especially the EU, by December 2028.