ECOFI and APEP have submitted a joint proposal to the European Commission calling for targeted simplification of the Classification, Labelling and Packaging Regulation (CLP) labelling requirements for EU fertilising products. This paper was developed in direct response to DG GROW’s May 2025 “reality check” – a call for concrete input on legislative and implementation challenges under the EU Fertilising Products Regulation (FPR) and related frameworks.
The joint proposal addresses the regulatory friction created by recent amendments to the CLP, particularly Regulation (EU) 2024/2865, which introduced new mandatory formatting rules such as minimum font sizes, line spacing, and black-on-white contrast. While intended to improve legibility and consumer safety, these requirements pose disproportionate challenges for fertilising products – especially smaller packages that must carry multilingual information.
For manufacturers committed to both compliance and sustainability, the overlap between CLP formatting rules and existing FPR labelling obligations risks increased packaging size, the need for fold-out or duplicate labels, and ultimately, more packaging waste. These unintended consequences run counter to the EU’s objectives on packaging reduction, circularity, and environmental sustainability.
ECOFI and APEP have therefore joined forces to propose workable solutions that maintain safety and transparency while supporting the EU’s broader goals of simplification, coherence, and competitiveness.
Key recommendations include:
- Exempting fertilising products from overly rigid CLP formatting rules
- Aligning implementation timelines across related legislation
- Enabling greater flexibility in labelling solutions
This paper reflects a shared commitment to shaping a regulatory framework that enables innovative, circular fertilising products to reach EU farmers efficiently and responsibly. It is also a concrete step in ECOFI and APEP’s broader advocacy for policy coherence across EU product legislation.