The European Parliament approved on October 22, in the Strasbourg plenary, the agreement reached with the Council on the Chemicals Omnibus VI. The vote obtained 477 votes in favor, 59 against, and 41 abstentions. Previously, the European Parliament had rejected the request from The Left group to overturn the pact due to the transitional periods. The text agrees on a way to withdraw cosmetics with carcinogenic, mutagenic, or toxic for reproduction (CMR) substances from the market when one of them is prohibited.
The political agreement was closed on the night of June 16. The formal adoption by the Council is pending, and the regulation will enter into force 20 days after its publication in the Official Journal of the EU.
A staggered calendar, shorter than Brussels'
The Cosmetics Regulation does not currently provide for a general staggering for withdrawing products with a newly prohibited substance. The Commission proposed 12 months to stop marketing them and 24 months for them to disappear from stores. The final agreement shortens these deadlines as follows:
| Scenario | Stop placing on the market | Total withdrawal from sale |
| Commission proposal (reference) | 12 months | 24 months |
| No derogation request | 6 months | 12 months |
| Derogation denied for safety reasons | 3 months | 9 months |
| Derogation denied due to suitable alternative existing | 24 months | 36 months |
What does not change
- Exposure pathway. The exemption proposed by the Commission for CMR classified substances due to oral or inhalation exposure is discarded. Any CMR classification can trigger the prohibition or the derogation procedure, regardless of the exposure pathway.
- Nanomaterials. Prior notification to the Commission is maintained, although without the current six months' notice.
- Alternatives. To accelerate the substitution of hazardous substances, the Commission will develop a guide on the analysis of alternatives one year after entry into force.