EU: Possible revision of the Cosmetics Products Regulation

 

The Cosmetic Products Regulation is applicable to all cosmetic products made available on the EU market.

Its primary goal is to establish a harmonized legal framework across the EU to:

• Safeguard consumer health by guaranteeing that all cosmetic products comply with stringent safety requirements before being introduced to the market.
• Ensure the proper functioning of the internal market for cosmetic products.

The EU is conducting a consultation to evaluate whether the existing rules are effectively achieving their intended objectives.

Regulation (EU) No 1223/2009 on Cosmetic Products (CPR) applies to all cosmetic products made available on the EU market. The primary aim of the CPR is to establish a harmonized legal framework across the EU, ensuring that:

(a) Consumer health is safeguarded by requiring all cosmetics to meet strict safety standards before being placed on the market.
(b) The internal market for cosmetic products operates efficiently and uniformly across all EU Member States.

The CPR has a significant impact on manufacturers, importers, distributors, and consumers by ensuring that all cosmetic products within the EU are safe for use and that consistent rules are applied across different countries. A key provision of the regulation is the appointment of a responsible person within the EU, tasked with overseeing product compliance and ensuring that products meet regulatory requirements before they are introduced to the market. This includes mandatory clear labeling of ingredients, instructions for use, and any relevant safety precautions.

Once products are available on the market, Member States—through their market surveillance authorities—continuously monitor compliance to ensure that products continue to meet the required standards. Additionally, customs authorities play a crucial role in enforcing CPR regulations at the EU’s external borders.

A comprehensive evaluation of the CPR is now being conducted, marking the first such review since the Regulation became fully applicable ten years ago. This evaluation aims to assess:

(i) How the Regulation has been implemented in practice.
(ii) Whether it has successfully achieved its intended objectives.
(iii) Its continued relevance and effectiveness in the face of evolving challenges, including the green and digital transitions, as well as internal and external competitiveness of EU businesses.

Given ongoing developments—such as online and bulk sales, digital labeling, the use of cosmetics in professional settings, and an increasingly complex geopolitical and economic landscape—the evaluation will examine several critical aspects. These include the Regulation’s scope, its definitions, the application of the generic risk approach to ingredients with potentially higher health risks, labeling requirements, and international trade trends affecting the EU industry’s global competitiveness.

The assessment will also explore whether the CPR is effectively supporting international regulatory alignment with other jurisdictions. Additionally, it will investigate potential areas for improvement, including possibilities for simplifying the regulatory framework and reducing administrative burdens. Based on its findings, the evaluation will help the European Commission determine whether amendments to the Regulation are necessary.

The evaluation will cover the period from 2013, when the CPR became fully applicable, through 2024. During this time, 50 amendments to the Annexes of the Regulation have been introduced, alongside 11 corrections and one amendment modifying Article 2 of the CPR.

The scope of the evaluation extends across all EU Member States and EEA countries. It will assess all provisions of the CPR, including the Cosmetic Product Notification Portal (CPNP), following the five key criteria outlined in the Better Regulation guidelines:

• Effectiveness: To what extent has the Regulation contributed to protecting human health while enabling the free circulation of cosmetic products within the single market? Have its specific objectives been successfully achieved?
• Efficiency: What are the main benefits of the Regulation, including potential cost savings? What costs have been incurred in its implementation?
• Relevance: Does the Regulation effectively address current needs, or has it become outdated, particularly in the context of the green and digital transitions and the EU industry’s competitiveness? Should its scope be expanded to cover the environmental impact of chemicals in cosmetics? Are the current rules adequate to ensure product safety for both consumers and professionals, particularly given the growth of online and bulk sales and the expanding knowledge of substance safety?
• Coherence: Is the Regulation internally consistent? Does it align with other chemicals legislation, such as CLP, REACH, the Detergents Regulation, the Biocidal Products Regulation, and the Medical Devices Regulation? Is it in harmony with broader EU consumer protection laws?
• EU Added Value: Could the Regulation’s objectives have been effectively addressed through national-level legislation alone, or is EU-wide legislation necessary to regulate cosmetics?

Furthermore, the evaluation will collect evidence on all relevant scientific and technological factors impacting human health and the environment, as well as legal, economic, and industry-specific developments related to cosmetic products. It will provide a comprehensive analysis of the CPR’s impact and effectiveness, offering valuable insights into its future direction.

 

To find out more about compliance for cosmetics in the EU and on other markets, please do not hesitate to contact the Product Compliance Institute.