EU Chemical Industry Action Plan
Commission Plan to identify and support ‘Critical’ chemicals, affordable energy, decarbonisation, green chemicals. The Plan is a Commission strategy document, not legally binding. Key actions announced include:
- Define criteria, identify and monitor chemical molecules that are critical for the EU’s strategic objectives, reflecting importance for downstream strategic sectors and EU trade dependencies. Such molecules will have enhanced customs surveillance monitoring and possibly specific legislative proposals.
- Identify with Member States critical chemicals sites, in particular Europe’s existing 150 chemical parks, support modernisation and decarbonisation with regional plans and EU funds.
- Establish a “Critical Chemicals Alliance” for the above.
- Support EU chemicals export markets and implement trade defence measures (e.g. anti-dumping) and enforce chemicals import surveillance (e.g. REACH).
- Implement existing tools for affordable energy and decarbonisation of the chemicals industry (Action Plan for Affordable Energy, ETS compensation, Clean Industrial Deal State Aid Framework CISA).
- Facilitate faster site permitting.
- Support decarbonisation, circular economy, bio-based chemicals and CCUS (carbon capture utilisation and storage).
- Foster innovation.
- Plan confirms the Commission’s commitment to restrict PFAS “as soon as possible after receiving ECHA’s opinion”, probably early 2026.
Cefic welcomed the Plan as important for competitiveness and resilience of Europe’s chemical industry, underlining the urgency of transforming the strong signals of the Plan into concrete actions to reduce energy costs, ease regulatory complexity and support the transformation of the sector. Europe faces chemical deindustrialization with an ongoing wave of chemicals plant closures and already 5% of capacity shut down in 2023. Cefic President, Dr. Ilham Kadri: “The plan is a make-or-break moment for our industry and we are glad that our calls for action have been heard. Now we need swift implementation and strong political coordination across the EU to turn this momentum into results. We look forward to the implementation of the Action Plan, to receive further clarification, and we stand ready to support”
“Commission strengthens Europe's chemical industry”, European Commission press release, 8th July 2025: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_25_1755
“European Chemicals Industry Action Plan”, COM(2025)530, 8th July 2025 https://single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu/publications/european-chemicals-industry-action-plan_en
“The Chemical Industry Action Plan is a vital step forward”, Cefic, 8th July 2025 https://cefic.org/news/the-chemical-industry-action-plan-is-a-vital-step-forward/
