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Background
The Action Plan responds to a marked decline in the competitiveness of the EU’s chemicals industry and builds on two earlier 2025 initiatives: the Competitiveness Compass, which set the Commission’s approach to restoring EU competitiveness and flagged sector-specific plans for energy-intensive industries including chemicals, and the Clean Industrial Deal, which translated that approach into a joint roadmap for competitiveness and decarbonization.
The Action Plan itself sets out measures in four areas: strengthening the resilience of EU chemicals production, including a new Critical Chemicals Alliance and trade defense measures; securing affordable energy and supporting decarbonization; creating lead markets and promoting innovation; and simplifying and streamlining the regulatory framework.
The Action Plan also initiated the update of the EU Bioeconomy Strategy, in which IFRA participated by providing input to the public consultation.
Why this matters for fragrance
The fourth area, regulatory simplification, is where most of the changes relevant to the fragrance sector sit. The Action Plan was published alongside the Chemicals Omnibus (Omnibus VI).
Omnibus VI amends the Regulation on the Classification, Labelling and Packaging of chemicals (CLP Regulation), the Cosmetic Products Regulation (CPR) and the Fertilising Products Regulation. It is accompanied by a proposal for a stand-alone Regulation on the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), which gives ECHA a stronger framework. The proposal also moves the Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) into ECHA as a stand-alone scientific committee, a transfer IFRA supported provided the SCCS’ scientific expertise and independence could be preserved.
IFRA follows and engages with each of these files, covered in more detail elsewhere on this page. Under the resilience area, IFRA also monitors the Critical Chemicals Alliance and related work on the bioeconomy, given the fragrance sector’s reliance on natural ingredients and complex, often low-tonnage, supply chains.
From SHIFT2024 to the Chemicals Action Plan
Ahead of the 2024 – 2029 EU mandate, IFRA published its SHIFT2024 recommendations, five proposals to guide EU policy on chemicals towards competitiveness, innovation and sustainability. Many of the same themes now feature in the Commission’s own agenda, and IFRA continues to draw on SHIFT2024 as the basis for its engagement with the Chemicals Action Plan and the initiatives that sit under it.
EU Cosmetic
Products Regulation
EU Detergents
Regulation
EU Chemicals
Omnibus (VI)
REACH
08 July 2026
News
Behind the Scents podcast: what Omnibus VI means for the future of fragrance
IFRA has launched the IFRA Behind the Scents Podcast: In a first episode, the association’s Regional Director for Europe explains Europe’s landmark regulatory package – and why it matters for safety, innovation, and the products consumers love.
01 July 2026
News
European legislators agree on legal text for the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA)
The new regulation creates a stand-alone legal framework for ECHA and incorporates the Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) into the agency
01 July 2026
News
IFRA welcomes European Commission’s commitment to not fully review REACH Regulation
The European Commission has confirmed it will not pursue a full legislative overhaul of REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals), a decision IFRA welcomes as providing much needed certainty for the fragrance industry.