Following public consultation, CEFIC has presented a paper with six recommendations in support of the European Commission’s proposals to update the existing EU regulation on pharmaceutical precursors.  These are:

The European Commission has informed India’s Alchem International and its Hong Kong subsidiary of its preliminary view “that they have breached EU antitrust rules by participating in a long-lasting cartel concerning an important pharmaceutical product”. If the EC ultimately concludes that there is sufficient evidence of an infringement, it can impose a fine of up to 10% of the company's worldwide turnover.

CEFIC joined other associations representing Europe’s clean technology industries and their key material suppliers to send a joint letter to European Commission (EC) President Ursula von der Leyen ahead of a European Council summit. This called for “urgent and comprehensive action from the EC and Member State governments to maximise the growth potential of the Green Deal and ensure a compelling business case for clean energy supply chains in Europe, from the raw material to the product”.

CEFIC has called on the European Commission and EU Member States to “immediately design and implement closely coordinated pan-European measures to limit the impact of energy prices vis-à-vis competing economies, increase energy supply and incentivise reductions in energy consumption”, both for the upcoming winter and beyond. “Skyrocketing gas and electricity prices vis-à-vis competing economies, the potential risk of gas supply shortages and mandates of electricity consumption reduction are putting hundreds of chemical plants at risk throughout Europe,” the association said.

The European Commission (EC) is proposing a Regulation that will impose legally binding targets to reduce the use of chemical pesticides by 50% from the average level consumed in 2015-17 by 2030. This is part of the Farm to Fork Strategy objective of delivering “a fair, healthy and environmentally respectful food system”.

The European Commission has published a Restrictions Roadmap under REACH, describing this as “an important step forward to provide detailed information on all ongoing work on future restrictions under the EU chemical legislation”.

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has brought forward a proposal to ban all per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in fire-fighting foams in the EU. A six-month consultation period with stakeholders will begin on 23 March.

This follows an investigation the agency carried out at the request of the European Commission into the strengths and weaknesses of five different options. It concluded that the risks posed by PFASs are currently not adequately controlled and that releases should be minimised.