Overview
Ruxandra advises and defends clients in matters related to EU regulatory law and litigation, with a strong emphasis on product, environmental, and sustainability regulations, and increasingly, climate change challenges. Her experience spans a wide array of sectors, from raw materials (including chemicals and minerals) to products such as electronics, consumer apparel, medical devices, cosmetics, food, and food contact materials. She is well-versed in regulations such as ESPR/Eco-design, Product Liability and Green Claims, REACH, CLP, PFAS, BPR, PPPR, PPWR, POPs, CPR, and WEEE/RoHS.
Ruxandra regularly provides guidance on supply chain-related matters, particularly those concerning environmental and regulatory issues, including CSRD, CS3D, and EUDR. Recognizing that while rules and regulations apply per jurisdiction and companies operate on a global scale, her knowledge and advice help businesses navigate and address global challenges and risks.
With extensive litigation experience, Ruxandra has defended nearly 100 actions before the European Court of Justice and the Board of Appeal of the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA). She has established herself as a trusted advisor to more than 30 industry groups, consistently providing valuable insights and successful, strategic guidance.
At Steptoe, Ruxandra serves as managing partner of the Brussels office. She leads the European team of Steptoe's Chemicals and Life Sciences group and co-chairs their ESG core team, coordinating the firm's environmental, social, and governance activities globally. Her successes have earned her consistent recognition in Chambers and Legal500, ranking Band 1 and as a Leading Individual, respectively.
- Brussels Bar (A List)
- LL.M., College of Europe, 1999, European Law
- J.D., University of Bucharest, 1998
- DEUG, Université Paris II Panthéon Sorbonne, 1998
Areas of Work
Representative Matters
- Successfully represented 35 chemicals companies in the synthetic amorphous silica (SAS) appeal (A-015-2015) before the BoA of ECHA, a precedent-setting nano case and the largest appeal yet decided by the BoA.
- Also nano-related, obtained the precedent-setting, successful annulment of the first ECHA decision on nanoforms (for the substance titanium dioxide). In an appeal before the BoA of ECHA (A-011-2014), Ruxandra represented 11 titanium dioxide producers, including Huntsman, Evonik and Chemours, earning the annulment of a compliance check decision by ECHA. The matter involved titanium dioxide substance identification under the dossier evaluation scheme of REACH. Also led the precedent-setting annulment of four nano-related compliance check decisions for Evonik, Rhodia, Iqesil and J.M. Huber (A-008 to A-011-2015).
- Won ten other appeals before the BoA of ECHA and obtained three positive decisions before the BoA of ECHA within 30 days of filing of the appeals, due to the strength of the arguments.
- Leading the application on behalf of PlasticsEurope, a major trade association representing the European plastics industry, to the General Court in cases T-185/17 and T-636/17 for the annulment of ECHA’s decisions to include Bisphenol A (BPA) in the Candidate List under the REACH Regulation.
- Represented the Applicants in the first successful direct action related to EU chemicals legislation to succeed before the EU General Court (case T-456/11).
- Obtained, on behalf of the European Federation of Cosmetic Ingredients, a significant success before the High Court in London and thereafter before the Court of Justice of the EU. The judgment brought much-needed clarity on how cosmetic companies and their suppliers can comply with EU legislation, also considering their non-EU obligations.
Speaking Engagements
- "Extended Producer Reponsibility Basics: A Review and Analysis of Obligations for the Regulated Industry in the EU, UK, and USA Workshop," Smithers, Plastics & Paper in Contact with Foodstuffs, December 9, 2024
- "Global PFAS Challenges: Identifying Exposure and Risks," Compounding World Expo North America, November 13-14, 2024
- "Competition Law and the Green Transition," Cefic Lab, Legal Horizon on Navigating Environmental Justice, Due Diligence and Competition Law, October 17, 2024
- "Managing global PFAS restrictions - how to find the common denominator globally", Chemical Watch PFAS Updates North America, Alexandria, September 18, 2024
- "Green claims and greenwashing", Chemical WatchProduct Sustainability USA 2024, Boston, June 26-27, 2024
- "Managing global PFAS restrictions – how to find the common denominator globally", Chemical Watch PFAS Global 2024, June 13, 2024
- "Unpacking the New EU Rules on Packaging and Packaging Waste", FeccWebinar, May 21, 2024
- "New Packaging and Packaging Waste Rules in the EU", ChemLinked Webinar, January 11, 2024
- "Legal aspects: legal advocacy and challenging CLH decisions, including for new hazard classes", Chemical Watch CLP and GHS Updates 2023, December 15, 2023
- “PFAS in the EU and in the UK," Smithers Plastics & Paper in Contact with Foodstuffs, December 12, 2023
- "Interaction between EU Product Sustainability Rules and General Chemicals Legislation", Chemical Watch Global Chemicals Management for Electronics 2023, December 6-7, 2023
- "One substance one assessment: issues related to grouping of chemicals under REACH", Chemical Watch Regulatory Summit Europe Part 1: European Updates, Brussels, October 16-17, 2023
- "Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability Update", Chemical Watch Regulatory Summit Americas 2023, Washington, September 25-26, 2023
- A Forum on ECHA's PFAS restriction proposal, Verdant Law, Washington DC, September 8, 2023
- "Moderator, "Session I—EU Chemicals Developments"; "CSS, REACH Revision & PFAS"; "Impact of Existing and Proposed Eco-Design Rules", Steptoe EU Chemicals & Sustainability Conference, June 19, 2023
- " EU Proposal for Legislation on Green Claims," Plastics Industry Association 15th Biennial International Symposium on Worldwide Regulation of Food Packaging, Washington, June 13-15, 2023
- "Global Compliance Strategy and Advocacy: Regulatory Developments Regarding PFAS, Antimicrobials, Sustainability Parameters and Green Claims," IMPACT2023, HCPA Mid-Year Meeting, May 4, 2023
- "Going Green in the EU - What is the Impact of the EU Sustainability Agenda and the EU CSS on Food Contact Materials?," Steptoe Food Contact Conference, April 26, 2023
- "Beyond Engagement - Concrete Objectives for Sustainable Corporate Action", Women's Forum USA, Washington DC, March 29, 2023
- "RoHS and REACH Issues at the Borderline", Chemicals Management for Electronics in Europe 2022 webinar, July 11, 2022
- "The Debate Over the Push to Make Chemicals Sustainable", Politico's Working Group, Brussels, June 21, 2022
- "An Update of REACH Substance Evaluation Court Decisions," Chemical Watchwebinar, November 15, 2019
- Panel Chair, "Enforcement Elsewhere in the World," Chemical Watch 6th Annual Enforcement Summit, Brussels, Belgium, September 24-25, 2018
- "REACH 2018: The Last Mile of Data Sharing Negotiations," Chemical Watchwebinar, March 28, 2018
- "EU Criteria to Identify Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals," Chemical Watch webinar, August 1, 2017
- "How to Build a Case for an Appeal Under the BPR," Chemical Watch2017 Biocides Symposium, May 11, 2017
- "How to Build a Case for an Appeal under REACH," Chemical Watch Expo, Berlin, Germany, April 25, 2017
- "REACH into the Future," Chemical Watch Expo, Berlin, Germany, April 25, 2017
- "Endocrine Disruptors: Developments in EU Law," GlobalChem, Baltimore, MD, March 3, 2015Interaction between EU product sustainability rules and general chemicals legislation
News & Publications
Client Alerts
EU Parliament Adopts Omnibus Negotiating Position
November 18, 2025
By: Yousuf Aftab, Ruxandra Cana, Jonathan C. Drimmer, Ellie Abramov
Client Alerts
EU Commission Unveils Targeted Amendments to EUDR
October 22, 2025
By: Ruxandra Cana, Jonathan C. Drimmer, Josep Nicolás Bellot
Client Alerts
Business and Human Rights Program Effectiveness: Sunny Skies with Storm Clouds Brewing
May 27, 2025
Regulatory Pulse: Chemicals and Sustainability Newsletter
Welcome to the Inaugural Issue of Regulatory Pulse: Chemicals and Sustainability Newsletter
April 8, 2025
Client Alerts
March 3, 2025
By: Ruxandra Cana, Eléonore Mullier, Robert Klotz, Charles Whiddington, Sherazad Chaouch
Client Alerts
February 27, 2025
Resources
Events
Webinars
Steptoe Pilot: Sustainability Innovation & Peer Collaboration
November 5/12/19, 2025
Speakers: Lee Berger, Ruxandra Cana, Timothy L. Dickinson, Jonathan C. Drimmer, Robert Klotz, Yousuf Aftab, Charles Whiddington
Webinars
Staying Ahead of the Curve on Biocides
September 17, 2025
Speakers: Darren Abrahams, Elodie Brière, Ruxandra Cana
Webinars
PFAS and Medical Devices - How the REACH Restriction may Impact You
June 26, 2025
Speakers: Ruxandra Cana, Eléonore Mullier
Seminars & Events
EU Chemicals and Sustainability Conference
June 12, 2025
Speakers: Eléonore Mullier, Ruxandra Cana, Michael Boucher
Webinars
First Details on the Scope of the EU REACH Revision
April 11, 2025
Speakers: Ruxandra Cana, Eléonore Mullier, Guy Parker,
Nicolas Fuentes Colomer
Webinars
EU Omnibus Proposal: Proposed Changes to the Sustainability Requirements
March 27, 2025
Speakers: Ruxandra Cana, Jonathan C. Drimmer, Eléonore Mullier
Seminars & Events
EU Chemicals and Sustainability Conference
November 13, 2024
Speakers: Eléonore Mullier, Ruxandra Cana, Michael Boucher
Seminars & Events
Brussels Symposium and Cocktail Reception
November 12, 2024
Speakers: Ruxandra Cana, Eric C. Emerson, Tyler Evans, Anne-Gabrielle Haie, Robert Klotz, Patrick F. Linehan, Eléonore Mullier, Daniel A. Mullen, Darryl Nirenberg, Meredith Rathbone, Jeffrey G. Weiss, Charles Whiddington, Wendy Wysong
Seminars & Events
Advertising and Consumer Protection Legal Forum
May 9, 2024
Speakers: Joan Baughan, Eric Berman, Daniel Blynn, Ruxandra Cana, Christopher R. Fredrich, Surya Kundu, Stephen J. Newman, Jeff Potts, Jennifer Quinn-Barabanov, Daniel C. Rubenstein, Julia B. Strickland
Seminars & Events
Complimentary Food Contact Conference
April 23, 2024 - April 24, 2024
Speakers: Joan Baughan, Daniel C. Rubenstein, Joseph Dages, Carly Rolph, Kimberly Cassidy, Jessica Cooper, Patricia Kinne, Tom Gillett, Ruxandra Cana, Daniel Blynn, Anthony G. Hopp, Surya Kundu, Dr. Yan Gu
Keynote Speakers: Dr. Paul Honigfort, Dr. Zhu Lei
Noteworthy
- Legal 500 EMEA, Leading Individual, EU Regulatory: Chemicals and Environment (2018-2024)
- Chambers Europe, Environment: Regulatory, Europe, Band 1 (2017-2025)
- Who's Who Legal, Environment (2010-2022)
- Best Lawyers in Belgium, Environmental Law (2016-2020)
- Best Lawyers in Belgium, Regulatory Practice (2014-2020)
- Women in Business Law, Nominated as a leading Environment practitioner (2015-2020)
- Client Choice Award 2017, Belgium, Environment & Climate Change (2017)
- Law360 "Rising Star," Environment (2015)
- Legal 500 EMEA, EU Regulatory: Food, Belgium (2015)
- LMG Life Sciences, "Life Sciences Star," Belgium (2014, 2015)