Background
On 8 July, the European Commission presented the European Chemicals Industry Action Plan to support the chemical sector and their investments on modernisation. The action plan highlights the key role of the chemical industry as the 'industry of industries' and proposes a series of measures to boost its competitiveness.
A key element of the action plan is the creation of a Critical Chemicals Alliance (CCA) bringing together the Commission and stakeholders to tackle the main challenges affecting the sector. The alliance builds on the experience of the Transition Pathway for the EU Chemical Industry.
Objectives
The Critical Chemicals Alliance (CCA) tackles key issues facing the chemical sector, such as risks of closures and trade challenges, and supports the modernisation and investments in critical productions.
The Alliance works on
establishing criteria to identify critical chemical productions and molecules for the European economy
mapping out critical molecules which can benefit from enhanced trade monitoring and support, including under the customs surveillance systems
supporting the EU and EU countries in aligning investment priorities and guide coordination of EU support mechanisms with national projects.
Alliance recommendations
The Alliance has released several reports about its work. You can find them below.
- Recommendations on critical molecules and critical sites
- Recommendations on improving EU trade defence
- Charter “Restore the Investment Climate for EU Chemicals Production: Survive · Modernise · Accelerate"
- Recommendations for a Policy Options Package on Lead Markets
- CCA reports on investments and closures
An overview of the investments and closures in the European chemical sector. The reports could also include a case study.
April 2026; June 2026 - CCA reports on import monitoring tool
The Import Trends Monitoring Tool monitors imports of chemical and basic pharmaceutical products to detect anomalous increases against historical trends.
July 2026 (report and data); August 2026 (report and data); September 2026 (report and data); October 2026 (report and data).
How to join the CCA
The Alliance is open to all organisations with relevant activities in the chemical industry, including EU countries, regional authorities, companies, associations, investors, academia, and civil society groups.
The membership criteria are set out in the Alliance’s terms of reference. To become a member, an organisation must sign the alliance’s declaration and commit to actively contributing to its objectives.
Timeline
More information about the alliance activities is available below.
- 13 January 2026First General Assembly
Chemelot, Geleen - the Netherlands.
Agenda, Presentation, Minutes
More details in our news article. - 8 October 2026Second General Assembly
Governance
Alliance members have the right to participate in the general assembly, which will be held at least twice a year to fix the main priorities and adopt the alliance’s opinion and recommendations.
The Steering Board coordinates the Alliance's work and defines its main deliverables.
Working groups of field experts undertake specific thematic areas. So far, there have been four working groups established: on critical molecules and critical production sites, on trade, on modernisation and investments, on lead markets.
