Amending Directive 2004/37/EC as regards the addition of substances and setting limit values in its Annexes I, III and IIIa
A proposed EU law. Parliament and the Council must agree on the same text: Parliament adopts its position, then negotiates with the Council.
Where it stands: Parliament approved the text agreed with the Council on 6 October 2026. The Council must now adopt it formally before it is published as law.
- ✓ Referred to committee 6 October 2025
- ✓ Committee work Report adopted 15 April 2026
- ✓ Tabled for plenary 17 April 2026
- ✓ Negotiations with the Council Deal approved in committee 2 September 2026
- ✓ Plenary vote Adopted 6 October 2026
- 6 Published as law
How a file moves through Parliament
A file is referred to one lead committee (others may give an opinion). Its rapporteur writes a draft report, committee members table amendments, and the committee votes to adopt the report. The report is then tabled for all MEPs; political groups can table further amendments, which are voted on before the final vote in plenary. For a law, Parliament’s adopted text is its first-reading position; Parliament and the Council then negotiate a common text (trilogues) which both must approve before it is published as law.
Who is working on it
- Lead committee
- EMPL — Employment and Social Affairs
- Rapporteur
- Liesbet SOMMEN PPE
- Shadow rapporteurs
- Nora MEBAREK S&DMargarita DE LA PISA CARRIÓN PfEMariateresa VIVALDINI ECRGrégory ALLIONE RenewMaria OHISALO Verts/ALEPer CLAUSEN The Left
The rapporteur drafts and negotiates the text for the lead committee; each other political group names a shadow rapporteur to follow the file.
The text, version by version
Committee draft → Tabled for plenary: Adds new definitions for hazardous medicinal products and medicinal products, and changes the scope of Annex I entries for carcinogens, mutagens and reprotoxic substances. Introduces new requirements on personal protective equipment, fitting checks, breaks for workers wearing such equipment, and training on residual risks. Adds recitals on gender-specific exposure, strategic sectors, cobalt transitional periods, isoprene, mercury compounds, jet exhaust, firefighters, SMEs and priority chemicals, while dropping recitals on cobalt limit values, microenterprise support, relocation, data collection and gender. The other changes are wording: recital 3 is replaced by recital 2 restating the scope of the Directive and the evidence needed for adding substances. see the changes →
Newest version first. Open a version to read it in full. “What changed” shows the differences paragraph by paragraph; ✦ lines are AI-written from the texts themselves.
Timeline
- Outcome
- 21 October 2026 Signed by the Presidents of Parliament and the Council
The last step before the act is published in the Official Journal.
- Plenary stage
- 6 October 2026 Plenary voteAdopted Adopted by a large majorityFor 499 Against 49 Abstained 104
Final vote on the provisional agreement at 13:35 · 77% of votes cast in favour · every MEP’s position →
- 30 September 2026 46 amendments tabled for the plenary vote
Groups propose changes to the tabled text; each is voted on before the final vote.
- Negotiations with the Council
- 2 September 2026 Committee approved the deal reached with the Council
The provisional agreement from the trilogues goes to the whole Parliament for a vote.
- 23 June 2026 Trilogue meeting
Negotiation between Parliament, Council and Commission on a common text.
- 7 May 2026 Trilogue meeting
Negotiation between Parliament, Council and Commission on a common text.
- 29 April 2026 Plenary endorsed the mandate to negotiate with the Council
Parliament’s negotiators can now seek a compromise text with the Council (in “trilogues”).
- Plenary stage
- 17 April 2026 Report tabled for plenary
This is the text all MEPs vote on. Political groups can still table amendments to it.
- Committee stage
- 15 April 2026 Committee vote: report adopted
EMPL (Employment and Social Affairs) voted on the amendments and adopted the report that goes to plenary.
- 30 January 2026 Amendments tabled in committee
Members of EMPL (Employment and Social Affairs) proposed changes to the draft.
- 11 December 2025 Draft report published
The rapporteur’s first text in EMPL (Employment and Social Affairs). Members can table amendments before the committee votes.
- 6 October 2025 Referred to the EMPL (Employment and Social Affairs) committee
The lead committee prepares Parliament’s report.