On April 1, 2025, the European Parliament voted in favor of all three legislative proposals within the ‘one substance, one assessment’ (OSOA) package, which aims to streamline the assessment of chemicals across EU legislation, strengthen the chemical knowledge base, and support early detection and action on emerging chemical risks.
Two of the three proposals focus on strengthening cooperation among and reallocating scientific and technical work on chemicals across the European Chemicals Agency, the European Food Safety Authority, the European Environment Agency, and the European Medicines Agency. This move will streamline assessment processes, optimize the use of resources and expertise, and support the coherent and transparent safety assessment of chemicals used in products, including in food.
The third proposal will establish a common data platform with information on chemicals held by the EU agencies and the European Commission, including data on hazards, physico-chemical properties, presence in the environment, emissions, use, environmental sustainability of chemical substances, and ongoing regulatory processes. Introducing a monitoring and outlook framework will also enable the early detection of chemical risks, allowing faster regulatory responses and monitoring of the impact of these responses.
The ‘one substance, one assessment’ approach was first introduced in October 2020 as part of the European Green Deal in the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability (FPF reported and here), which aims to make safety assessments of chemicals more efficient, coherent, and transparent across EU legislation. As a follow-up, the European Commission tabled the ‘one substance, one assessment’ package in December 2023. With the April 1, 2025, vote, the European Parliament and Council of Ministers will now begin negotiations on a full text.
References
Vivienne Halleux (March 26, 2025). “‘One substance, one assessment’ package.” European Parliamentary Research Service
European Commission (December 7, 2023). “Commission proposes ‘one substance, one assessment’ chemicals assessment reform for faster, simplified and transparent processes.”
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Leigh Stringer (April 2, 2025). “European Parliament votes in favour of one substance, one assessment package.” Chemical Watch News & Insight
