On 11 February 2026, the final legislative act was officially signed by the Presidents of the European Parliament and of the Council, completing the procedure.

This final agreement :

• Provides for clearer physical labels, and detergents sold in refill formats.
• Introduces voluntary digital labelling
• Simplifies market rules by abolishing several requirements that have become unnecessary or redundant (such as the obligation to provide an ingredient data sheet for hazardous detergents).
• Introduces a ban on animal testing.
• Tasked the Commission with assessing the suitability of the requirements to ensure the safety of products containing living micro-organisms and with developing a dedicated risk assessment methodology to evaluate the safety of these products.
• Provides for the biodegradability within six years of the polymeric films surrounding most detergent tablets and capsules.
• Empowers the Commission to assess the impact of reducing phosphorus levels.

This adoption followed a provisional agreement reached between the Council and the European Parliament during interinstitutional negotiations (trilogues) on 10 June 2025. This agreement established the core elements of the final text, including the empowerment of the Commission to set stricter biodegradability requirements for water-soluble polymeric films and improvements to digital labeling transparency regarding allergens and preservatives.

On 14 June 2024, the Council adopted its negotiating mandate, where it specifically developed provisions concerning the safe sale of detergents in a spray format, requiring labels to include specific warnings and instructions to ensure user safety.

In the Parliament, the plenary adopted the ENVI committee's report as its first reading position on 27 February 2024. The ENVI committee, which adopted the report on 14 February 2024, proposed to enlarge the list of restricted microorganisms, introduce the article banning animal testing, and include stricter biodegradability criteria for organic ingredients. The associated IMCO committee had previously adopted its opinion on 24 January 2024.

The legislative process was initiated on 28 April 2023, when the Commission put forward its proposal to amend the rules on detergents and surfactants, replacing and repealing Regulation (EC) No 648/2004. The Commission's initial aims were to simplify market rules by abolishing redundant requirements, introduce voluntary digital labelling to reduce industry burden, and facilitate the safe sale of innovative products based on micro-organisms.

The revision of the regulation was initially announced on 14 October 2020 as part of the action plan accompanying the EU chemicals strategy for sustainability - Towards a Toxic-Free Environment, with the goal of accounting for the combination effects of chemicals and better protecting consumers' health.

References:

• Revised Regulation on detergents and surfactants, Official Journal 2 March 2026
• EP Legislative Observatory, Procedure file on detergents and surfactants, 2023/0124(COD)
• European Parliament, Detergents: MEPs revise rules to improve environmental and health protection, press release, 22 January 2026
• European Parliament legislative resolution of 27 February 2024
• European Commission, Proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on detergents and surfactants, COM(2023)217
• European Commission, Impact assessment accompanying the proposal, SWD(2023)114
• European Commission, Evaluation of Regulation (EC) No 648/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 March 2004 on detergents, SWD(2019)298
• European Commission, Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability - Towards a Toxic-Free Environment, COM(2020)667

Further reading:

• European Parliament, EPRS, Regulation on detergents and surfactants, Briefing, February 2024
• European Parliament, EPRS, Revision of Regulation (EC) 648/2004 on detergents, Briefing, March 2023

Author: Camille Siefridt, Members' Research Service, legislative-train@europarl.europa.eu