European Parliament backs a revision of CLP to better protect health and the environment from endocrine disruptors

4 October 2023

The European Parliament today adopted its position on the revision of the legislation on the classification, labelling and packaging of chemical substances (CLP). The vote is a crucial step in the reform process of the CLP regulation, which sets out how the EU classifies and communicates about hazardous chemicals and mixtures used in a wide array of consumer products.

EDC-Free Europe welcomes the outcome of the vote, which saw an overwhelming majority of MEPs (519 votes in favour, 99 against and 8 abstentions) support a strong European Parliament position on the CLP reform. The Parliament’s position includes support for the introduction of hazard classes for endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in CLP. These hazard classes will allow for the classification of EDCs, which will in turn allow EU regulators to take measures to limit and prohibit their use.

“Today’s vote on the CLP reform is a major step towards better protection against harmful endocrine disrupting chemicals. There is no time to lose: we now call on European member states to show the same leadership and ambition, and conclude the CLP reform process as soon as possible to protect consumers, workers and the environment”, explains Sandra Jen, EDC-Free Europe spokesperson.

The EU rules on the classification, labelling and packaging of chemicals are a key cornerstone of Europe’s chemicals legislation, but they are currently missing hazard classes to identify and communicate about endocrine disruptors. The EDC-Free Europe campaign has long called for a reform of the CLP regulation to catch up with well-established scientific evidence on the impact of EDCs present everywhere in our daily life, which has so far been overlooked by this overarching regulation for the classification of chemicals.

As a next step, the Parliament will start negotiations with the European Commission and Council towards the final adoption of the revised regulation.

For reactions and specialist takes from EDC-Free Europe campaign members, visit: 

• Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL)

Other EDC-Free Europe reactions and resources on the CLP revision include:

• EDC-Free Europe welcomes introduction of hazard classes for endocrine disrupting chemicals as part of revision of the CLP regulation (December 2022)
• EDC-Free Europe campaigners welcome the publication of the draft proposal for new EU hazard classes for endocrine disruptors (September 2022)
• How can a revised CLP regulation help identify harmful endocrine disrupting chemicals? (August 2022)
• EU public consultation on the revision of EU rules on classification, labelling and packaging of substances ends mid-November (November 2021)
• Health and environment groups comment on EU Commission’s roadmap for revision of REACH and CLP regulations (June 2021)