EU Biocides Authorities Prioritise Risk Guidance and Market Restrictions at 109th CA Meeting

The discussions reflected mounting pressure to streamline authorisations, ensure consistent risk assessments, and enforce environmental safety obligations—particularly in light of evolving scientific, legal and societal expectations.

New Guidance Projects for 2026–2027

National authorities endorsed a set of new guidance priorities aimed at closing regulatory gaps and ensuring better alignment across Member States. These include:

• Developing a scientific framework for identifying substances of concern, with a focus on co-formulants and synergists that pose toxicological or environmental risks.
• Extending dietary risk assessment methodologies to cover processed foods and livestock exposure scenarios, improving the basis for residue evaluations.
• Updating procedural guidance to reflect changes to the BPR Annexes and better support applications for active substance approval and product authorisation.

Several Member States expressed support for jointly advancing these efforts, particularly where harmonisation would reduce duplication and uncertainty for applicants.

Market Ban on Microplastics in Biocidal Products by 2031

One of the most urgent topics was the approaching deadline under the REACH regulation that will ban synthetic polymer microparticles in biocidal products from 17 October 2031. Authorities confirmed that:

• Biocidal products containing microplastics will need to be withdrawn from the market by the deadline—no derogations or grace periods will apply.
• Future applications for product authorisation or substance renewal must avoid nominating microplastic-containing formulations as representative products.
• Applicants should act now to reformulate or substitute affected products to ensure compliance well before the market cut-off.

This restriction is expected to particularly affect encapsulated technologies, often used for controlled-release biocidal applications.

Review Programme Progress Still Lagging

Despite previous action plans, progress in evaluating existing active substances remains slow. As of September 2025:

• Just 51% of substances in the review programme have been finalised.
• Substantial gaps remain in the 4th, 5th, and 6th priority lists, with dozens of reports still outstanding.

Delays continue to place pressure on national authorities and risk overwhelming product authorisation workflows once multiple substances are approved simultaneously.

Additional Policy Signals

• Authorities reached agreement on a new interim approach to the risk assessment of substances of concern, providing clarity ahead of more formal guidance.
• Belgium presented a proposal to develop voluntary icons for product labels, aimed at improving the safe and effective use of disinfectants by professionals and the public.
• Member States exchanged views on the renewal process for active substances, with several products now at risk of market removal due to missed application deadlines.
• Updates were provided on the planned revision of the biocides fee regulation, which will increase costs for applicants while maintaining SME discounts.