The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has upheld the decision of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) of 23 November 2022.

On 1 August 2025, the ECJ declared the classification of titanium dioxide initiated by the EU Commission in 2019 to be invalid. Titanium dioxide is a white pigment used in numerous plastic products. Manufacturers, importers, users and suppliers had filed a lawsuit against the EU regulation on the labelling of powdered titanium dioxide as ‘probably carcinogenic’, which had been in force since 1 October 2021. According to the ruling published in 2022, the ECJ criticises that an opinion on the carcinogenicity of titanium dioxide by the European Chemicals Agency and the EU Commission was not adequately assessed and that incorrect conclusions were therefore drawn for the warning labels. The EU Commission had appealed against this decision. However, the ECJ has now dismissed the appeal and confirmed that the classification of titanium dioxide was not justified because not all relevant scientific factors were taken into account. In particular, the Commission made a manifest error in assessing the recognition and reliability of a scientific study on which the classification was based, according to a statement from the ECJ.

 

Further information: This link will take you to the home page of the ECJ website.

Sources:

• ECJ press release (1.8.2025)
• Photo: © Court of Justice of the European Union