European Commission Accelerates Phasing Out of Animal Testing

Jennifer Weil
·3 min read

PARIS — The European Commission on Tuesday said it is accelerating the rate at which animal testing will be phased out on the Continent.

The move comes in response to the European Citizens’ Initiative, or ECI, called “Save Cruelty-Free Cosmetics — Commit to a Europe Without Animal Testing.”

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“The commission welcomes the initiative and acknowledges that animal welfare remains a strong concern for European citizens,” the commission said in a statement. “It highlights the leading role of the EU in phasing out the use of animals in testing and improving animal welfare in general. This is especially reflected in the full ban of animal testing for cosmetics, which has been in place in the EU since 2013.”

The commission said it will introduce a new road map with legislative and nonlegislative actions to further reduce testing on animals with the goal of ultimately moving to an animal-free regulatory system under the chemicals legislation, including Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals, or REACH, and Plant Protection Products Regulation, and continue supporting animal testing alternatives.

The commission also said it will continue to back research into the development of animal testing alternatives as well as possibly look into coordinating member states associated activities.

In response to the ECI, the commission aims to protect and strengthen the cosmetic animal testing ban, transform EU chemical legislation and modernize science within the EU.

The “Save Cruelty-Free Cosmetics” initiative was registered by the commission on June 30, 2021. Between Aug. 31, 2021, and Aug. 31, 2022, support was collected. On Jan. 25, after the verification of 1.2 million statements of support by the member state authorities, organizers submitted the initiative for examination and reply.

For ECI consideration, signatures from at least 1 million citizens and at least seven EU member states are required.

This is the fifth successful ECI initiative concerning animal welfare or the environment.

Although the fundamentals of the commission’s accelerated phase-out were lauded, some said it still falls short.

“While campaigners welcome the plan to ultimately eliminate animal testing for chemicals and the longer-term proposals to reduce and phase out the use of animals in research and education, outrageously, the commission ignored citizens’ calls to uphold the ban on animal testing for cosmetics, a ban established by legislators over a decade ago,” Cruelty Free Europe said in a statement.

“Despite the introduction of an EU ban on animal testing for cosmetics ingredients in 2009, animal tests for chemicals handled by industrial workers or which may be released into the environment are still being required under the EU’s REACH regulation,” it continued. “Disturbingly, proposed updates to REACH indicate that animal testing for chemicals is set to surge over the coming years. Rather than waiting for the EU courts to resolve this issue in an ongoing case, citizens’ demands must be immediately addressed to prevent further animal suffering.

“Although the commission is exploring actions to accelerate the development and use of non-animal [testing] methods, they do not constitute the root-and-branch reform demanded by EU citizens via the ECI,” said Cruelty Free Europe.

“The people of Europe have made it clear that experimentation on animals has no place in our modern society,” said Sabrina Engel, chair of the ECI organizing committee. “While we welcome positive action to replace the use of animals in experiments and chemical tests, we wholly condemn the commission for failing to end the suffering of thousands of animals used in cosmetics tests.”

“The commission must now propose meaningful changes to existing legislation and policies to set member states, regulators and assessment bodies on the path to phasing out all uses of animals in laboratories,” she continued. “Therefore, we are calling on all actors to pursue the goals of the ECI.”

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