The European chemical sector is a pillar of the EU economy. According to the European Commission, it is the 4th largest manufacturing sector in the EU, with 29 000 companies providing 1.2 million direct jobs and supporting 19 million across supply chains. The sold production of chemicals and related products grew from €790 billion in 2023 to €830 billion in 2024. At the same time, the production and consumption of hazardous chemicals reached a historic minimum in 2023 and has been declining since 2010.
As it is the base of many other industries – and has an impact on safety, health, and the environment –, the chemical sector is highly regulated. Within Europe, this is done predominantly through comprehensive pieces of legislation. In the EU, around 40 EU laws regulate chemicals, among which the most relevant are the Regulation on Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) and the Regulation on Classification, Labelling and Packaging of chemical substances (CLP).
REACH (EC 1907/2006) aims to improve the protection of human health and environment, at the same time enhancing the innovation and competitiveness of the EU chemicals industry. Currently, more than 26 000 substances have been submitted to the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) under REACH. Other groups of chemicals, such as fertilizers, explosives, biocides, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics, are addressed by specific legislations.
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