In November 2022, the EU’s General Court annulled Commission Delegated Regulation 2020/217 of 4 October 2019 amending Regulation 1272/2008 (the CLP Regulation) as regards the harmonised classification and labelling of titanium dioxide in powder form.
Titanium dioxide is an inorganic chemical substance (TiO2), which is used mainly as a white pigment for colourant and covering properties. It has many applications, from paints to medicinal products to cosmetics as well as toys.
The case was brought before the Court by a group of manufacturers, importers, and downstream users of titanium dioxide. The applicants sought to annul the European Commission’s Delegated Regulation 2020/2017 classifying titanium dioxide as a carcinogenic substance by inhalation in certain powder forms. The European Commission’s Regulation was based on a proposal by the competent authority of France (ANSE – National Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety), and it followed the assessment and positive opinion on the part of the European Chemical Agency’s Committee for Risk Assessment (RAC).
With its judgment, the EU’s General Court annulled such classification of titanium dioxide by ruling that the European Commission (and RAC) committed a manifest error in its assessment of the reliability and acceptability of the scientific study on which the classification was based. Furthermore, the General Court found that, contrary to what set out in the CLP Regulation, the classification of titanium dioxide was not based on its intrinsic properties, where intrinsic properties must be interpreted as meaning “‘properties which a substance has in and of itself”.
It is still unclear whether the European Commission will appeal the General Court’s judgement.
For further information, please click here to access the General Court’s press release and here to access the judgement.
Please do not hesitate to contact our office at EU@israeltrade.gov.il if you have any questions or require further information.