Moving Parts: A Guide to the EU's Evolving Product Regulatory Landscape

1. Single Market Strategy and the upcoming European Product Act

On 21 May 2025, the European Commission (the "Commission") published its Single Market Strategy. The Single Market is of course one of the fundamental tenets of the European Union – a single trading bloc, in many respects borderless from the perspective of citizens, products, services and capital. The Commission states that the Single Market has raised EU GDP by 3-4% since its establishment in 1993.

Placing products on a single European market under harmonised product legislation is a core benefit. The Single Market Strategy proposes several measures to further simplify and modernise the EU product regulatory landscape by 2030. Importantly, the Single Market Strategy is a non-legislative act, and the Commission will introduce legislative proposals over the following months to operationalise its provisions. The measures described in the Single Market Strategy are intended to remove trade barriers, promote investment and ensure fair competition.  Manufacturers should monitor developments which may necessitate changes to conformity assessment procedures and safety measures such as product recalls.

Following the Single Market Strategy, the Commission has published two calls for evidence on the review of the New Legislative Framework ("NLF") and performance of the Market Surveillance Framework ("MSF"), two building blocks of EU product legislation. These initiatives will coalesce into a new European Product Act, scheduled for adoption in Q3 2026.

• The NLF is a horizontal framework for product harmonisation legislation in place since 2008 - it governs market surveillance, conformity assessments and CE marking (among others) and dovetails with more specific EU product legislation.
  
  
• The MSF was introduced in 2019 to complement the NLF, ensuring that non-food products on the EU market meet all relevant EU regulatory requirements, including those related to safety. It is enforced at two levels: by market surveillance authorities operating within the Single Market, and by designated authorities at EU external borders (typically customs authorities). The MSF empowers these authorities to take a range of actions, such as ordering product withdrawals and recalls, and imposing sanctions, with the aim of preventing non-compliant products from circulating on the Single Market and/or bringing them into compliance.

The Commission intends to revise the NLF to increase the use of digital tools and information-sharing between market surveillance authorities, promote circularity and harmonise labelling rules via sectoral legislation and also to facilitate rollout of digital labelling solutions via the Digital Product Passport ("DPP") for CE-marked products.

It is also considering the introduction of an EU Market Surveillance Authority and further improvements to EU-level governance of market surveillance systems.

Also by Q3 2026, the Commission intends to review the Standardisation Regulation (Regulation (EU) No 1025/2012) to accelerate the development of harmonised standards and increase the variety of stakeholders involved in the process. Harmonised standards are the main mechanism used by product manufacturers to demonstrate compliance with EU product directives and regulations and are generally very stable. Testing to new standards will always increase costs for product manufacturers, so it is hoped that faster standards development will not lead to regulatory uncertainty and too frequent updating of standards.

2. Environmental Omnibus published

The so-called "Environmental Omnibus", proposed by the Commission on 10 December 2025, is the eighth package in the Omnibus series of simplification initiatives. At its core, the package aims to reduce the administrative and financial burden associated with complying with EU environmental and product legislation while (according to the Commission) upholding the objectives of the Green Deal and the EU's net-zero targets. The Environmental Omnibus has the potential to impact many different aspects of operations, but will be of particular interest to developers, those covered by extended producer responsibility requirements and manufacturers of products containing substances of concern, amongst others.

The Environmental Omnibus comprises six distinct legislative proposals, including the following:

• Environmental impact assessments and permitting processes will be streamlined by introducing single points of contact, digitised systems, and accelerated procedures, especially for strategic projects in digital infrastructure, critical raw materials and affordable housing.
  
  
• Changes to the Industrial Emissions Directive ("IED") will allow businesses more flexibility in implementing environmental management systems, remove mandatory transformation plans, extend preparation periods and lift the requirement for independent audits. Organic farmers and aquaculture operators will benefit from reporting exemptions.
  
  
• In the product space, the database for hazardous substances in products ("SCIP") will be integrated into more efficient digital transparency tools such as DPPs, lowering compliance costs for manufacturers and downstream operators.
  
  
• In relation to Extended Producer Responsibility ("EPR") obligations, the requirement for EU-based businesses to appoint authorised representatives in each Member State is suspended, pending broader EPR reform under the Circular Economy Act (see below).

It is reported that the trilogue negotiations on the final text between the three law-making institutions are not going smoothly. The Commission has taken the unusual step of opening up its adopted Communication "Simplifying for Sustainable Competitiveness" for a period of public consultation, until 7 May, and will feed responses on the approach outlined into the trilogue negotiations. This follows an initial consultation on which rules should be subject to simplification via the Environmental Omnibus, which attracted almost 200,000 responses.

Simplification measures should result in lower operational costs, though costs may be incurred in implementing short term changes.

3. A new Circular Economy Act

The Circular Economy Act ("CEA") is a major forthcoming initiative by the Commission, expected to be proposed by the end of 2026. It will serve as a cornerstone of the EU’s Clean Industrial Deal and the Competitiveness Compass for the 2024–2029 period. This signifies less of a policy pivot than a shift in the narrative: the circular economy is being positioned not only as an environmental strategy but as a contributor to industrial strategy and competitiveness in the EU. This is not entirely surprising, given the high-profile policy recommendations in the 2024 Draghi and Letta reports, which emphasised the need to pair decarbonisation with robust industrial competitiveness and to reduce the EU’s reliance on imported raw materials.

The CEA aims to tackle materials security, market fragmentation, and unsustainable consumption. It is designed to promote recovery and use of secondary raw materials from within the EU, set clear and harmonised rules to enable a single market for these materials, and make their use economically attractive for industry. Currently, a lack of uniform “end-of-waste” criteria across Member States creates legal uncertainty and hinders the cross-border flow of recyclates, reducing the effectiveness of the single market.

Key measures under consideration include amendments to the Waste Framework Directive and the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment ("WEEE") Directive, new targets for resource consumption, and measures to bolster EPR schemes. The CEA is also expected to accelerate digitalisation, streamline permitting and reporting requirements, and make it easier for businesses to operate cross-border and to participate in circular value chains.

The Commission’s consultation and expert group process (notably the November 2025 meeting of Member State circular economy directors) confirmed a broad agreement that a harmonised EU approach is needed, prioritising end-of-waste criteria, harmonised EPR, recycled-content targets, waste prevention, and digitalised implementation. In its December 2025 Simplification Communication, the Commission indicated that it may reconsider further changes to its proposed approach to EPR, including a digital one-stop-shop for information, registration and reporting.

4. Omnibus IV – "Small Mid-cap" companies to benefit from simplified rules for F-gases and batteries

The Omnibus IV is one of a series of legislative packages aiming to streamline compliance with EU law and reduce administrative burdens for businesses. Tabled in May 2025, Omnibus IV addresses regulatory bottlenecks for businesses experiencing rapid growth - specifically those transitioning from SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) status to large status.

In general terms, many regulatory regimes apply based on company size, with burdens for large companies being notably higher than for SMEs. The shift from "medium" to "large" can be difficult for companies to navigate. This phenomenon is common across jurisdictions, and any companies approaching "large" thresholds should ensure that they have sight of newly applicable obligations. It is often eased by rules which consider the "large" status to be effective only in the second consecutive year of reaching the applicable financial or employee thresholds (also avoiding companies switching in and out of size bands based on exceptional years).

A central feature of Omnibus IV is the creation of a new “small mid-cap” ("SMC") category via Commission Recommendation (i.e. a non-binding but highly persuasive piece of law that can become binding by reference from a directive or regulation). SMCs are defined as (i) not qualifying as either small or medium enterprises under Recommendation 2003/361/EC, (ii) having fewer than 750 employees and (iii) having an annual net turnover of up to €150 million or balance sheet of up to €129 million. There are a few exceptions, including where 25% or more of capital or voting rights are directly or indirectly controlled by one or more public bodies.

To give effect to the new SMC classification, the Commission has proposed both an amending regulation and an amending directive. The draft regulation will amend the Batteries Regulation and the F-Gas Regulation, but also two regulations on anti-dumping, GDPR, and the Prospectus Regulation. The draft directive will amend the MiFID Directive and the Critical Entities Resilience Directive.

Both the Council (at least in its draft position) and the Parliament have proposed to increase the SMC thresholds in the draft Regulation to less than 1000 employees and either an annual turnover of less than €200 million or an annual balance sheet of less than €172 million. While the co-legislators cannot directly amend a Commission Recommendation (they can only apply political pressure to the Commission to revise it), they can ensure that the legislation covered by Omnibus IV aligns with their preferred position rather than the Commission Recommendation. This could lead to an unsatisfactory situation where the SMC thresholds in the legislation and the Recommendation do not align – harming rather than advancing the Commission's drive for simplicity. It is unclear whether the Commission would revise the Recommendation after the fact to align with the final position adopted by the co-legislators.

Sector-specific relief is also expected to be provided under Omnibus IV. In the Batteries Regulation, the Commission proposed to apply the obligation to conduct due diligence on the battery supply chain only to companies with turnover exceeding €150m – increasing the scope threshold from €40m in the original text to a turnover level aligning with its definition of a SMC (in each case, thresholds apply on an individual or group basis). The Parliament proposes to increase that turnover thresholds further, to €200m, and it appears that the Council will also support this threshold. A new definition of SMCs in the Batteries Regulation would be based on either those entities meeting the criteria in the Commission Recommendation, or alternatively meeting the proposed new definition of an SMC in Directive 2014/65 ("MiFID II"), that is companies with an average market capitalisation of between €200 million and €1 billion. Both the European Parliament and the Council, however, favour the higher thresholds.

In addition, importers and exporters of fluorinated greenhouse gases ("F-gases") will only be required to register where certain reporting or export limitation thresholds are met. There are also measures to ensure that SMCs designated as critical entities under infrastructure resilience legislation receive relevant support.

It is likely that various other pieces of legislation will be amended over time, as the Commission assesses which regimes should benefit from the SMC category.

While some new SMC companies will opt to minimise their compliance burden by taking full advantage of falling out of scope of certain obligations, market influences including existing contractual commitments might prevent others from doing so and necessitate business as usual.

5. UK and EU CBAM developments

The EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism ("CBAM") was the subject of "Omnibus I", with simplification changes being the first to be both proposed and finalised. Those changes dramatically reduced the scope, with smaller importers now subject only to a self-identification regime as part of customs formalities. (See our detailed analysis of the changes, which were enacted in largely the form discussed, here.)

The definitive (i.e. payment) phase of the EU CBAM began on 1 January 2026. In December 2025, the Commission published a number of legislative measures to implement the definitive phase, including on default emission values by material and country and CBAM benchmarks. Critically, on 7 April 2026, the first CBAM quarterly certificate price was published, at €75.36/tonne CO2e (aligning with the average EU ETS auction price). From 2027, the Commission will update the certificate price weekly. Purchasing of CBAM certificates will begin in February 2027 covering 2026 imports. 

The Commission is proposing to extend the scope of the CBAM to include specific steel- and aluminium-intensive downstream products, in addition to introducing additional anti-circumvention measures. and a Temporary Decarbonisation Fund to support EU operators of installations and downstream operators impacted by carbon pricing, and mitigate remaining carbon leakage risks. 

As the EU CBAM moves into the definitive phase, in-scope businesses must be prepared for the immediate cashflow impacts from the purchase of CBAM certificates. The EU’s proposed scope expansion to specific steel- and aluminium‑intensive downstream products could capture importers previously outside the scope of the regime. At the same time, the UK CBAM regime is crystallising: primary legislation is in place, and secondary legislation has been published, meaning systems and data processes must be built now to avoid compliance gaps. Traders between the EU and UK should ensure that they understand the interplay between the two CBAM regimes and the likely impact on costs going forward. 

6. Proposed simplification of energy efficiency product legislation

On 16 February 2026, the European Commission launched a call for evidence on simplifying legislation for energy-efficient products. This initiative targets amendments to the Energy Labelling Regulation and Tyre Labelling Regulation to reduce administrative burdens and modernise compliance processes, particularly by leveraging digital solutions such as the EPREL product database.

Key areas for simplification include streamlining printed and digital labelling requirements, easing EPREL registration requirements, clarifying product-specific labelling obligations (notably for heating, cooling, and tyres), and making it easier to adapt rules as technologies evolve. The consultation will inform a legislative proposal expected in Q2 2026.

This legislative initiative has strong interplay with the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation. The ecodesign and energy labelling regulations operate in parallel, but connection between the two regimes is likely to increase with the roll-out of digital product passports. Information on labels is likely to be supplemented by, rather than replaced by, DPPs.

7. Sustainable Products: new rules preventing the destruction of unsold clothes and shoes and reporting on unsold consumer products

On 9 February 2026, the Commission published new secondary legislation clarifying the rules prohibiting the destruction of unsold clothing and footwear. The prohibition, adopted under the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation ("ESPR"), introduces clear obligations for manufacturers, importers, and retailers to ensure that unsold textiles are not simply discarded but are instead reused, recycled, or otherwise managed in a sustainable way. Spoiling or entirely destroying particularly luxury goods may make economic sense in order to prevent them from being resold through unauthorised channels, but the reputational damage stemming from such unsustainable business practices can offset any potential gains if brands are known to engage in such practices. "Destruction", within the meaning of the ESPR, encompasses damage as well as total destruction. Under this new package, certain exemptions from the prohibition will apply, e.g. where destruction is necessary for safety reasons or due to product damage. The prohibition on destroying products and the derogations will apply to large companies from 19 July 2026. Medium-sized companies are expected to follow in 2030; reporting requirements will also apply to medium-sized companies from this date.

To support producers, the Commission is developing end-of-waste criteria for textile waste, specifically for textile products being prepared for reuse, remanufacturing and recycling. This will be helpful as producers can be clear when they need to comply with waste legislation (for example, which could require a licence to be held before transporting quantities of such products).

Separately, the ESPR also requires companies to disclose information on the unsold consumer products they discard as waste. A second delegated regulation in the package introduces a standardised format for businesses to disclose the volumes of unsold consumer goods they discard. This format will apply to products discarded in each financial year from the first full financial year after the Regulation's date of application (expected to be April or May 2027). Therefore, for companies that have financial years aligning with the calendar year, the new format will apply for disclosures made in 2029 onwards. However companies reporting unsold products in their CSRD report do not need to duplicate that information, but can instead provide a clear link to it on their website.

The adopted Regulations will now go through a two month objection period (extendable to four months) before being published in the Official Journal and entering into force.

8. Other developments in EU producer responsibility legislation

Several additional initiatives relating to EU environmental legislation are currently underway.

• Secondary legislation to support the implementation of the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation ("PPWR") is actively being developed and released for public consultation by the Commission. For example, draft rules relating to the setup of national EPR producer registers are expected to be published shortly.
  
  
• On 13 January 2026, the Joint Research Centre of the Commission ("JRC") published a technical proposal for EU-wide harmonised waste sorting labels under the PPWR. The PPWR requires packaging to be marked with pictograms containing information on material composition, which will facilitate easier sorting by consumers and in turn drive up recycling rates. The new labelling must be used from 12 August 2028, or two years after entry into force of the Commission implementing regulation, which will be informed by the JRC proposal.
  
  
• Other notable developments include the publication on 30 March of a detailed Commission FAQ on the PPWR, which is expected to address frequently raised issues such as testing requirements for PFAS, application dates, labelling standards, and reuse targets. The Commission has also adopted a Delegated Act providing for an exemption for pallet wrappings and straps from the 100% reuse targets under the PPWR.
  
  
• Secondary legislation associated with the Batteries Regulation is progressing, including consultations on harmonised battery labelling requirements, calculation and verification of recycled content for those battery types that must contain certain percentages of recycled metals, and further exemptions from the rules on battery removability and replaceability. These consultations are intended to clarify and refine the application of obligations under the Batteries Regulation and further harmonise product requirements between Member States.

Looking further ahead, the Commission will complete an evaluation of the Single Use Plastics Directive by the specified deadline of 3 July 2027, to assess whether it has delivered on objectives to reduce marine plastic pollution and improve circularity. The Commission launched a public consultation and call for evidence on the Directive at the end of 2025, with feedback open until 17 March, and amendments may be proposed as a result.

9. Omnibus VI: Chemicals Simplification Omnibus proposed

The Commission's chemical omnibus package ("O-VI") was published on 8 July 2025, proposing a series of changes to EU chemicals legislation, with the aim of easing regulatory burden on and improving competitiveness of businesses in scope. The proposals follow a technical-level consultation that was held with key stakeholders in May 2025.

In addition to O-VI, the Commission has until very recently been doing preparatory work for a planned overhaul of the REACH Regulation. On 27 April, it said that it was prioritising certainty and predictability and would therefore not propose a major revision to REACH, preferring more minor simplification measures which it can enact in a more unilateral way via comitology procedures, and improving enforcement of existing measures in respect of both substances themselves and substances in products.

O-VI proposes to amend the CLP Regulation, the Cosmetics Regulation and the Fertiliser Regulation.

Currently, the O-VI package is moving through the EU legislative procedure. After a series of draft reports and compromise proposals, the Council formally agreed on its negotiating position in November 2025, proposing a large number of revisions to the scope of the package. The next step in the process will be for the European Parliament to formally agree its position on the text, ahead of the trilogue between the three institutions. The amendments will be phased in over the next three years. 

i.  Amendments to the Regulation on the Classification, Labelling and Packaging of Hazardous Chemicals

Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 (the "CLP Regulation") requires economic operators to classify, label and package their hazardous chemicals in line with the UN's Globally Harmonised System ("GHS"), before placing them on the market. The CLP Regulation makes the GHS legally binding in the EU (and UK, which retained the CLP Regulation post-Brexit, though there has since been some divergence). It requires economic operators to assess and classify their hazardous substances, applying standardised pictograms (e.g. the skull and cross-bones symbol indicating acute toxicity) and phrases (such as "danger").

Regulation (EU) 2024/2865 updated the CLP Regulation, including to take account of trends towards online sales, selling refillable fuel products, and digital labelling, all of which were less prevalent at the time of the original regulation. The 2024 Regulation also provided a number of technical and scientific updates - the Commission proposes to defer (further) the application of these requirements.

The May 2025 consultation found that the rigid label formatting rules and excessive advertisement requirements were negatively impacting market access and administrative costs. To combat this, the Commission has proposed the following:

• Reverting rigid label formatting rules to a more flexible, general obligation focussed on readability (without diverging from the GHS).
  
  
• For public advertisements only, limiting advertising requirements to a "read the label" message for public advertisements only, removing the need to include full hazard information in all advertisements.
  
  
• Limiting the provisions on distance sales offers to those aimed at the general public rather than professional purchasers.
  
  
• Removing the fixed deadline for the obligation to update labels and replacing with an obligation to update labels "without undue delay".
  
  
• Clarifying and expanding derogations for small packaging.
  
  
• Expanding the use of digital labelling for certain required information.

Pending full adoption of the amending regulation, the Commission proposed a "Stop the Clock" measure (as seen with the Sustainability Omnibus) postponing the entry into force of some of the changes to the CLP Regulation introduced by Regulation 2024/2865 that imposed additional burdens on businesses. The Regulation implementing the Stop the Clock proposal was published  on 3 December 2025, giving extra time for many of these issues to be renegotiated without producers expending resources on compliance in the meantime.

On 20 April, the European Parliament tabled its position on the draft text. It largely supports the Commission's proposal; notably, it proposes a hard-stop of 18 months for relabelling, as a qualifier to the requirement to update labels "without undue delay".  

ii. Amendments to the Regulation on Cosmetic Products

All cosmetics placed on the EU market must adhere to a strict series of requirements laid down in the Cosmetic Products Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 (the "CPR"), designed to ensure that cosmetic products are safe. These requirements include product notifications, safety assessments, and the appointment of a designated "Responsible Person" within the EU to ensure compliance. Certain substances, such as those classified as carcinogenic, mutagenic or reprotoxic ("CMR"), are banned from use in cosmetics unless derogations apply.

The May 2025 consultation highlighted the lack of transitional periods for new bans on ingredients, an unclear derogation process for CMR products and other administrative burdens leading to increased costs for producers and forcing product withdrawals.

The following amendments to CPR have been proposed:

• Introducing fixed transitional periods for compliance with bans or restrictions - 12 months for products to be placed on the market (by the manufacturer or importer), and 24 months for products already on the market to be made available (by distributors or retailers).
  
  
• Simplifying and adding transparency to the derogation procedure.
  
  
• Clarifying that products with CMR properties when eaten or inhaled may still be permitted for dermal use, subject to the safety assessment.
  
  
• Deleting the pre-notification requirement for products containing nanomaterials, integrating it into the product safety report instead as for other ingredients.
  
  
• Removing the obligation for the Commission to publish and maintain, and for producer to use, an official glossary of cosmetic ingredients, allowing reliance instead on internationally recognised nomenclatures such as INCI.

The European Parliament broadly supports the Commission text but also strengthens it in places. For example, non-compliant cosmetic products would be banned from being placed on the market after 6 rather than 12 months from a new CMR substance restriction being introduced, and withdrawn from sale after 15 months rather than 24 months. In cases where the Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety ("SCCS") has found the new restricted substance to be unsafe, the product must not be placed on the market after 3 months and withdrawn after 12 months. These deadlines may pose a challenge for reformulation and relabelling, but do illustrate that industry burden reduction and the competitiveness agenda remain secondary to consumer safety considerations.

iii. Amendments to the Regulation on EU Fertilising Products

The third limb of O-VI is an amendment to the EU Regulation on Fertilising Products (EU) 2019/1009 (the "FPR"), aiming to incentivise large scale fertiliser product production in the EU from domestic organic or secondary raw materials. 

Proposed amendments to the FPR include:

• Removing the extended REACH registration requirement for fertilising product ingredients, such that only standard REACH provisions apply based on volume and risk.
  
  
• Allowing a criteria-based system to assist in approving new micro-organisms in plant bio-stimulants.
  
  
• Mandating wider digital-only documentation and reporting.
  
  
• Enabling the Commission to update multiple component material categories through a single delegated act.

Currently, the O-VI package is moving through the EU legislative procedure. After a series of draft reports and compromise proposals, the Council formally agreed on its negotiating position in November 2025, proposing a large number of revisions to the scope of the package. The next step in the process will be for the European Parliament to agree its position on the text, ahead of the trilogue between the three institutions.  A plenary sitting date for adoption of its position is currently scheduled for 27 April 2026.

10. Ongoing Review of the Proposed Ban on PFAS

PFAS are a large group of thousands of substances, widely used in consumer products, which do not break down naturally over time and therefore tend to accumulate in the environment, water or in people. Risks from PFAS are becoming better understood, but scientific studies to date have been limited compared with many other common substances in use over a longer time period. Regulating PFAS is challenging due to the very large number of substances within the group (estimates range from 5000 to 15000 substances).

The EU is continuing to move forward – albeit not at pace - with planned measures to ban the use of PFAS. This follows bans already introduced in Member States including France and Denmark.

In August 2025, the ECHA published an updated proposal to restrict PFAS under the EU’s REACH chemicals framework. The update was prepared by authorities from Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden, who originally submitted the proposal in January 2023. On 26 March 2026, ECHA announced that its two scientific committees supported broad, EU-wide bans, subject to specific derogations. Following the publication of the ECHA opinions (one of which is still to be finalised following a consultation period), the European Commission will ultimately decide on the restriction in consultation with the EU Member States, who make up the REACH Committee.

The restriction is expected to cover manufacturing, placing on the market (including imports) and use of PFAS as substances and in mixtures and articles. Mixtures and articles already on the market can continue to be sold. It is expected to apply 18 months after adoption of the Commission decision, likely therefore to be no sooner than mid 2028.

Risk management measures where PFAS use continues are expected to include site-specific PFAS management plans for manufacturers and industrial users, including monitoring of emissions, supply chain communication on use of PFAS, product labelling and instructions for use and disposal. Derogations – both time-limited and open-ended - are expected to be available where alternatives are not yet available, and where the cost-benefit analysis does not support the restriction. This may include refrigerants, medical devices and non-stick coatings in industrial bakeware. At present, a range of critical sectors rely on PFAS, including printing, sealing, machinery, medical, military, explosives, technical textiles, and other various industrial uses.

In addition, the Commission has said that it will phase out PFAS using its powers to restrict hazardous substances in packaging under the PPWR.