Four years after its first publication, the implementation of the Restrictions Roadmap has been lagging behind, and several planned restrictions of hormone disrupting chemicals have not yet been delivered on. The EDC-Free Europe coalition calls for stringent regulatory risk management of hormone-disrupting chemicals now, starting with three key groups of substances. 

In a context of mounting scientific evidence on the toxic properties of chemicals and accumulated delays in restricting those dangerous substances, EU policymakers committed to minimise unnecessary exposure of people and wildlife to endocrine disrupting chemicals and other substances considered particularly harmful. Through the delivery of the 2022 Restriction Roadmap (‘the Roadmap’) policymakers meant to implement the obligation under REACH to address unacceptable risks to human health or the environment arising from exposure to dangerous chemicals and contribute to delivering on the ambition to move towards a “toxic free” environment, set down in the 2020 EU Chemical Strategy for Sustainability (CSS).  

However, four years after its first publication, the Commission has not acted decisively enough, and several planned restrictions are severely delayed (EEB Restrictions Roadblock report, 2026).  

In May 2026, European Commission Vice-President Sejourné stressed the need to “be able to restrict and identify” endocrine disruptors, and Commissioner for Environment Roswall restated the commitment of the Commission to “use existing instrument as REACH restriction” to protect citizens and the environment against substances such as PFAS and endocrine disruptors. Wide support for stricter rules on the use of endocrine disruptors and PFAS in cosmetic products were also shown in a recent vote on the Chemical Omnibus amendment in the European Parliament.  

Therefore, EDC-Free Europe Coalition calls for stringent regulatory risk management of EDCs NOW. We urge policymakers to start with restricting groups of EDCs that have been prioritised for years – EU citizens are rightfully expecting protective measures in response to the worrying findings from human biomonitoring studies.  

While the road ahead is clear, the EU now need to go ahead and advance restricting the substances outlined in the Roadmap, starting with three well-known hormone disrupting substance groups:  

Ortho-Phthalates 

There have been repeated EU assessments showing the risks of ortho-phthalates, time and again concluding that a group restriction is the most suitable option (2021 ECHA Assessment of Regulatory Needs Report; 2023 Investigation Report on PVC and PVC additives). While important work is currently ongoing to classify a group of ortho-phthalates for endocrine disruption and toxicity to reproduction, the long-planned work on a restriction should be initiated simultaneously to avoid further unnecessary delays. We ask the European Commission to mandate ECHA to draft a proposal for a group restriction of ortho-phthalates, covering all uses and recommend including a dynamic link for future phthalates that may be found to be EDCs. 

Bisphenols with concerns for human health 

Bisphenols are among the best studied EDCs, but comprehensive regulatory action on bisphenols as a group is still lacking, despite clear evidence for regrettable substitution following regulation of the notorious bisphenol-A. Again, EU assessments have recommended a group restriction of these chemicals (2021 ECHA Assessment of Regulatory Needs Report). At the moment, Germany is drafting a proposal to restrict bisphenols with concerns for the environment, but action on bisphenols with concerns for human health has not been initiated yet. We ask the European Commission to mandate ECHA to draft a proposal for a group restriction of bisphenols with concerns for human health to complement the German proposal and recommend including a dynamic link for future bisphenols that may be found to be EDCs. 

Aromatic brominated flame retardants (ABFRs) 

Despite years of assessments (2023 EU Regulatory Strategy for Flame Retardants; 2024 Investigation Report on ABFRs), a comprehensive regulatory action for these persistent and bioaccumulative chemicals, which are often also EDCs, is still lacking. For example,  Tetrabromobisphenol-A is a carcinogen, a suspected EDC and still one of the most widely used flame retardants. Currently, ECHA is working on a proposal to restrict ABFRs in certain uses, based on a mandate by the European Commission. However, the scope for the restriction is limited to three chemicals. We ask the European Commission to extent the scope of the ABFR restriction and recommend including a dynamic link for future persistent and bioaccumulative BFRs. 

The restrictions of the three prioritised groups of hormone-disrupting chemicals are not only necessary steps towards protection of health and the environment but also essential for a cleaner circular economy. Beyond this, clear regulatory action will further incentivise the substitution of these problematic chemicals and create markets for alternative providers. Past assessments indicate that substitutes and alternative solutions are already available for many uses. 

The REACH restrictions are the most important opportunity at this point in time to stimulate innovation towards safer products as well as reduce health costs and environmental clean-up costs for society as a whole.  

At the same time, the toolkit of regulatory action on EDCs is not limited to REACH restrictions but should also include more EDC group assessments, new requirements under sectorial legislation (e.g. on the use of EDCs in cosmetic products) and new REACH authorisations. 

Call for action (pdf)

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Additional resources on the topic from the EDC-Free Europe campaign partners:  

For a comprehensive overview on the key elements necessary to improve the European regulatory framework on EDCs, read the EDC-Free Europe statement: 7 priorities to protect people and environment from harm caused by endocrine-disrupting chemicals or the summary.