On Friday 14 June, the Council adopted its negotiating mandate for the regulation on detergents, which aims to simplify the rules governing their sale and free movement within the EU by updating labelling requirements.
The Council’s mandate specifies a number of details in relation to the Commission’s proposal.
With regard to the obligations of economic operators, the Council has decided to bring them into line with the existing legislation applying to the chemicals sector, known as the ‘CLP’ regulation (see EUROPE 13307/5).
This should simplify certain procedures, such as communicating data sheets on hazardous mixtures to poison control centres.
The Council has included biodegradability requirements for future products and tightened restrictions on the sale of detergents in spray form, which contain micro-organisms that are harmful to the respiratory tract.
The Member States have also introduced a revision clause inviting the Commission to assess the need to reduce the phosphorus content of detergents in the future.
The Council’s position updates the list of allergenic fragrances that must be indicated on detergent labels to bring it into line with the regulation on cosmetic products and invites the Commission to update this list by means of delegated acts.
Finally, it aligns the provisions of the digital product passport (DPP) with the Ecodesign Regulation and the Toy Safety Regulation in order to achieve maximum harmonisation (see EUROPE 13410/17).
Parliament has not yet adopted its position on the regulation. (Original version in French by Isalia Stieffatre)