The European Council has reached a provisional agreement with the European Parliament to revise the existing regulation on the classification, labelling, and packaging (CLP) of chemicals.

The revision of existing 2008 EU legislation on the CLP of chemicals will help in reclarifying the rules on labelling chemical substances, as well as ensuring that the necessary information is available for chemicals sold online.

For example, the revision involves the implementation of specific advertising requirements and the use of a minimal font size on the packaging of hazardous chemicals.

This update is claimed to help safeguard consumers, workers, and the environment.

According to the European Council, the regulation will also require EU businesses to use fold-out labels and digital labelling on their chemical packs.

The companies will need to ensure hazard pictograms on the packaging of their chemical substances in order to display all the necessary safety information.

This is the first time that EU nations will have a specific set of rules for refillable chemicals, the council added, and will also help in minimising packaging and packaging waste.

Spain's Industry and Tourism Minister Jordi Hereu i Boher said: “The revision of the CLP regulation will bring digital and circular economy to the chemicals sector. With the new rules consumers will have all the necessary information both in paper and digital format, regardless of whether they buy them in shops, in bulk or online.”

The latest agreement comes several months after the EU Council adopted a negotiating position on the proposed update to the CLP regulation for chemicals.

If fully adopted, the regulation will come into effect 20 days after its publication in the Official Journal of the EU.