Changes from adopted text to adopted text

RemovedTEXTS ADOPTED

AddedP10_TA(2026)0019

RemovedP9_TA(2024)0091

Detergents and surfactants

ChangedCommittee on the Environment, Public HealthClimate and Food Safety

RemovedPE753.691

AddedPE781.227

ChangedEuropean Parliament legislative resolution of 2722 FebruaryJanuary 20242026 on the proposalCouncil forposition at first reading with a view to the adoption of a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on detergents and surfactants, amending Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 and repealing Regulation (EC) No 648/2004 (COM(2023)0217(12331/1/2025 – C9-0154/2023C10-0344/2025 – 2023/0124(COD))

Changed(Ordinary legislative procedure: firstsecond reading)

The European Parliament,

Changed– having regard to the CommissionCouncil proposalposition toat Parliamentfirst andreading the(12331/1/2025 Council– (COM(2023)0217)C100344/2025),

Removed– having regard to Article 294(2) and Article 114 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, pursuant to which the Commission submitted the proposal to Parliament (C9-0154/2023),

Removed– having regard to Article 294(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

– having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee of 12 July 2023,

Removed– having regard to Rule 59 of its Rules of Procedure,

Added– having regard to its position at first reading on the Commission proposal to Parliament and the Council (COM(2023)0217),

Changed– having regard to theArticle opinion294(7) of the CommitteeTreaty on the InternalFunctioning Marketof andthe ConsumerEuropean Protection,Union,

Changed– having regard to the reportprovisional ofagreement approved by the Committeecommittee onresponsible theunder Environment,Rule Public75(4) Healthof andits FoodRules Safetyof (A9-0039/2024),Procedure,

Change 1

Removed1. Adopts its position at first reading hereinafter set out;

Added– having regard to Rule 68 of its Rules of Procedure,

Removed2. Calls on the Commission to refer the matter to Parliament again if it replaces, substantially amends or intends to substantially amend its proposal;

Added– having regard to the recommendation for second reading of the Committee on the Environment, Climate and Food Safety (A10-0004/2026),

Added1. Approves the Council position at first reading;

Added2. Notes that the act is adopted in accordance with the Council position;

Added3. Instructs its President to sign the act with the President of the Council, in accordance with Article 297(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union;

Added4. Instructs its Secretary-General to sign the act, once it has been verified that all the procedures have been duly completed, and, in agreement with the Secretary-General of the Council, to arrange for its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union;

5. Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council, the Commission and the national parliaments.

Change 2

RemovedP9_TC1-COD(2023)0124

RemovedPosition of the European Parliament adopted at first reading on 27 February 2024 with a view to the adoption of Regulation (EU) 2024/… of the European Parliament and of the Council on detergents and surfactants, amending Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 and repealing Regulation (EC) No 648/2004

Removed(Text with EEA relevance)

RemovedTHE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

RemovedHaving regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 114 thereof,

RemovedHaving regard to the proposal from the European Commission,

RemovedAfter transmission of the draft legislative act to the national parliaments,

RemovedHaving regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee,

RemovedActing in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure,

RemovedWhereas:

Removed(1) The conditions for placing and making available on the market of detergents and surfactants for detergents have been harmonised through Regulation (EC) No 648/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council.

Removed(2) The Commission evaluation of Regulation (EC) No 648/2004 concluded that overall that Regulation has achieved its objectives to a large extent. However, the evaluation also identified a number of weaknesses and areas for further improvement. In recent years, the regulatory framework for chemicals has changed radically creating a lack of coherence and duplications in the rules applicable to detergents and notably their information requirements. There is therefore a need to ensure consistency and to eliminate the duplicated information requirements.

Removed(3) New market developments, in particular the development of detergents containing micro-organisms and the refill sale of detergents have emerged that are either completely or partially not covered by Regulation (EC) No 648/2004. On the other hand, digitalisation offers opportunities for simplification, burden reduction and increased ease of use and understandability of safety and use information that are currently missed. It is therefore necessary to take account of the newly emerged products and practices and step up the digitalisation efforts in line with the overarching objectives of the Union especially in terms of sustainability, green and digital transition.

Removed(4) The Fitness Check of the most relevant chemicals legislation (excluding Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council) highlighted the complexity of the Union regulatory framework for chemicals and attributed it to the large number of product and sector specific pieces of legislation with embedded links with each other. It also pointed out that there is room for simplification in the communication of information of overcrowded labels to product users, and found that the use of innovative tools for communicating product information is currently not being taken advantage of. It is, therefore, necessary that the current rules are simplified to reduce burden for economic operators, improve consumer understanding and facilitate market surveillance. Regulation (EC) No 648/2004 should therefore be replaced.

Removed(5) Decision No 768/2008/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council lays down common principles and reference provisions intended to apply across sectoral legislation in order to provide a coherent basis for a revision of that legislation. The new legal framework for detergents and surfactants should be aligned to the extent possible to those common principles and reference provisions.

Removed(6) In order to ensure legal certainty and a level playing field for economic operators, the definition of detergent should cover all products falling in the scope of harmonisation, including the newly developed detergents containing intentionally added micro-organisms. The definition should also cover products for cleaning the surface of fruits and vegetables.

Removed(7) Since surfactants are primarily sold in business-to-business transactions in order to be used in the manufacturing of detergents, they do not need to be subject to the same requirements as detergents. Therefore, minimum rules for surfactants should be laid down, namely rules on ultimate biodegradability, a minimum set of labelling information and the obligation of economic operators to draw up a technical documentation and to create a product passport.

Removed(8) This Regulation should complement existing rules set out in other legislative instruments and should not affect the application of existing Union legislation relating to aspects of protection of health, of safety and of the environment not covered by this Regulation. This Regulation should, in particular, apply without prejudice to Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006, Regulation (EU) No 528/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council and to Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council.

Removed(9) Surfactants are surface-active agents that help break down the interface between water and oils or dirt. They are one of the main ingredients used in detergents. Surfactants could, however, pose a risk to the environment as they are discharged into sewage systems or directly into surface waters. To prevent any adverse effects that surfactants could have on the environment, it is necessary to set requirements ensuring that surfactants are completely biodegradable either when placed on the market on their own and intended for use in detergents or when contained in detergents.

Removed(9a) There are substances used in detergents, other than surfactants, which might remain in wastewater after use and, if not removed by wastewater operators in costly processes, they persist and built up in the environment. In order to facilitate innovation and address potential risks to health and the environment, it is necessary to set a mid-term target ensuring that detergents, as a whole, are inherently biodegradable. To give manufacturers time to adapt product formulations, sufficient transition periods should be provided and relevant test criteria should be established well in advance. [Am. 1]

Removed(10) Phosphorus is a keyan ingredient used in detergents. However, phosphorus and its compounds could cause significant damage to ecosystems and aquatic environments as they contribute to eutrophication. To further ensure a high level of protection of the environment, and reduce the contribution of detergents to that phenomenon, it is necessary to establish harmonised limits on the content of phosphates and phosphorus compounds in consumer laundry andcertain consumer automatic dishwasherand industrial detergents. Similar limitations are not required for other types of detergents either because their contribution is not significant or because suitable alternatives are currently not available. [Am. 2]

Removed(11) In recent years, novel cleaning products have been developed that contain living micro-organisms as active ingredients. Micro-organisms have their own biology and response to the environment. Due to their ability to proliferate, there is a clear difference between conventional and microbial detergents. Therefore, the inherent hazards and arising risks are not necessarily of the same nature as those presented by chemicals, especially in relation to the capacity of micro-organisms to persist and multiply in different environments and to produce a range of different metabolites and toxins of potential toxicological significance.

Removed(12) Since micro-organisms are not subject to registration under Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 or any other Union legislation requiring manufacturers to demonstrate that the intended use is safe, they should be eligible for use in detergents only to the extent that they have been clearly identified and supported by data demonstrating that their use is safe, and subject to specific requirements governing their safety. Harmonised rules governing the safety of micro-organisms in detergents as well as relevant test methods for economic operators to demonstrate compliance with those rules should, therefore, be established. Restrictions are required on the format in which detergents containing micro-organisms are placed on the market when sensitising ingredients are included in their composition. To ensure a high level of protection of human health even for sensitised persons, detergents containing micro-organisms and which are placed on the market in a spray format should, therefore, be found safe for use in this format.

Removed(12a) In accordance with Directive 2010/63/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council, it is necessary to replace, reduce or refine testing on animals, with a view to stopping the use of animals for testing as soon as possible. The placing on the market of detergents and surfactants which have been the subject of animal testing in order to meet the requirements of this Regulation should therefore generally be prohibited while still ensuring the protection of human health and allowing the use of historic data. The Commission should validate relevant alternative testing methods and derogations where appropriate and encourage the sharing of information between all relevant stakeholders to support the development of non-animal testing methods taking into account the applicable Union law on the protection of undisclosed business information and on public access to environmental information. [Am. 3]

Removed(12b) The use of the claim ‘animal testing free’ or similar claims should only be allowed if it is ensured that during the manufacturing and conformity testing no animal testing has occurred. Similarly, manufacturers should only be allowed to claim a product is ‘vegan’ or similar, if no animal-derived ingredients, such as gelatine, cholesterin or collagen, or animal by-products, such as honey or beeswax, have been used in the manufacturing or development of the product. [Am. 4]

Removed(13) To ensure a high level of protection of the aspects of public interest, and to guarantee fair competition on the internal market, economic operators should be responsible for the compliance of detergents or surfactants with this Regulation, in relation to their respective roles in the supply chain. Whenever appropriate, manufacturers and importers should carry out sample testing of the detergents and surfactants that they have made available on the market, in order to protect the health and safety of consumers and the environment.

Removed(14) All economic operators intervening in the supply and distribution chain should take appropriate and effective measures to ensure that they only make available on the Union market detergents and surfactants which are in conformity with this Regulation. It is necessary to provide for a clear and proportionate distribution of obligations which correspond to the role of each economic operator in the supply and distribution chain. [Am. 5]

Removed(15) In order to enable economic operators to demonstrate and the competent authorities to verify that detergents and surfactants made available on the market comply with the requirements of this Regulation, it is necessary to provide for a conformity assessment procedure. Decision No 768/2008/EC establishes modules for conformity assessment procedures, from the least stringent to the most stringent, in proportion to the level of risk involved and the level of safety required. In order to ensure inter-sectoral coherence and to avoid ad-hoc variants, Decision No 768/2008/EC specifies that conformity assessment procedures should be chosen from among those modules.

Removed(15a) Manufacturers should keep the technical documentation, the product passport and, where applicable, the digital label for a period of 10 years following the date on which the last item of a batch or model of a detergent or the surfactant covered by that documentation, product passport or digital label has been placed on the market. [Am. 6]

Removed(16) The manufacturer, having detailed knowledge of the design and production process, is best placed to ensure compliance of the detergent or surfactant with the requirements of this Regulation. Manufacturers should therefore be solely responsible for carrying out the conformity assessment procedure for detergents and surfactants. Module A should be applicable for the conformity assessment of detergents and surfactants. Manufacturers should also put together a technical dossier demonstrating compliance of the detergent or surfactant with the relevant rules and test methods.

Removed(17) To facilitate compliance of the manufacturers with their obligations under this Regulation, manufacturers established in the Union should be allowed to appoint an authorised representative to carry out specific tasks on their behalf. Such an appointment should be valid only when accepted in writing by the authorised representative. Moreover, to ensure a clear and proportionate distribution of responsibilities between the manufacturer and the authorised representative it is necessary to set out the list of tasks that manufacturers should be allowed to entrust the authorised representative with. Further, to ensure the enforceability and effectiveness of the market surveillance requirements and that only compliant detergents and surfactants are placed on the Union market, the appointment of an authorised representative should be mandatory when the manufacturer is established outside of the Union. [Am. 7]

Removed(18) With a view to facilitating the communication between economic operators, market surveillance authorities and consumers, economic operators should, as part of their contact details, indicate a website addresstelephone number in addition to the postal addressand email addresses. [Am. 8]

Removed(19) In order to safeguard the functioning of the internal market and to ensure that the objective of providing a high level of protection of health and the environment is achieved, it is necessary to establish that detergents and surfactants from third countries entering the Union market also comply with this Regulation. In particular, it is necessary to ensure that appropriate conformity assessment procedures have been carried out by manufacturers with regard to those products. It is also necessary to lay down rules for importers to ensure that the detergents and surfactants they place on the market comply with those requirements and that the documentation drawn up by manufacturers and, where relevant, the CE marking areis available for inspection by the competent national authorities. Provision should also be made for importers to ensure that a product passport is available for those products. [Am. 9]