For the European Union, the cosmetics industry, which is the world leader in this field, does not only cover “traditional” products, such as make-up and perfumes. It also includes products for personal hygiene like tooth-care products, shampoos and soaps. It is estimated that the European market for cosmetic products which employs, directly or indirectly, approximately 500,000 Europeans, is worth around e65 billion while about 25 per cent of this industry’s products are either replaced or reformulated every year.

Earlier this month an all-inclusive regulation was proposed by the European Commission to simplify and replace the current 27 national pieces of legislation, a regulation which should lead to a new framework by 2010. Last year, a three-month public consultation on the simplification of the directive was held for stakeholders, including consumer organisations.

The Commission later issued an impact assessment report based on the responses of the public consultation and several Commission studies. The Commission proposal for a Cosmetics Regulation will also eliminate the costs and burdens for the cosmetic industry to follow the different parts of the acquis on this sector. It covers simplified notification requirements to cut administrative costs for cosmetic companies by 50 per cent. The main regulatory framework, the 1976 EU Cosmetics Directive, has become too fragmented. It consists of a series of amendments with no coherent terminology. Although it guarantees the free circulation of cosmetic products in the internal market and establishes the legal framework to cover the safety of cosmetics, differences between national laws have created costs that do not affirm product safety.

This proposal therefore envisages strengthening product safety while at the same time cutting down the red tape for businesses. Some provisions have proved to be quite complex, resource-intensive and difficult to administer. The proposal emphasises the manufacturers’ responsibility and in-market control aspects. It clearly outlines the minimum requirements for the safety assessment of cosmetic products to ensure the safe use of these products when placed on the EU market. Among other things, it also proposes rules for the reporting of undesirable effects to the supervisory authorities, product withdrawal, and coordination of enforcement between member sate authorities.

The proposal now needs to be submitted to the European Parliament and the council which will engage in a co-decision procedure that would hopefully lead to the establishment of a simplified directive in two years’ time.

Brenda Azzopardi is a Research Analyst at Forum Malta fl-Ewropa