ECHA's Committee for Risk Assessment adopted its final opinion on March 2, 2026, concluding that PFAS pose an EU-wide risk justifying restriction and supporting a full ban, with only personal protective equipment supported as a risk-based derogation, according to an Enhesa briefing dated Oct. 15, 2026. The universal restriction proposal was submitted in January 2023 by Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden and covers more than 10,000 substances.
ECHA published the draft opinion of its Committee for Socio-Economic Analysis on March 26, 2026. SEAC found that a full ban would not balance costs and benefits and favored a broad restriction with time-limited, use-specific derogations, flagging eight unassessed sectors including printing, machinery, military uses and technical textiles. The 60-day consultation closed on May 25, 2026.
RAC recommends thresholds of 25 ppb for any individual PFAS by targeted analysis excluding polymers, 250 ppb for the sum of PFAS by targeted analysis, and 50 ppm for total PFAS including polymers. The default transition period would be 18 months after entry into force.
The final SEAC opinion is expected before the end of 2026, completing ECHA's scientific evaluation; the European Commission has said it intends to present its proposal rapidly afterward. Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi told the European Parliament on Sept. 17, 2026 that ECHA is in the final stages of its assessment.
Other measures are already in force: Regulation (EU) 2025/1988 phases out PFAS in firefighting foams, with operational and labeling obligations from Oct. 23, 2026 and a full ban from Oct. 23, 2030; the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation has banned intentionally added PFAS in food-contact packaging above set limits since Aug. 12, 2026.
