Answer of the European Commission to ECI “Save Cruelty-Free Cosmetics – commit to a Europe without animal testing”

The European Commission has replied to the European Citizen Initiative.

HERE you have the whole document to download, but briefly these are the main conclusions: 

The Commission outlines the following actions to further reduce animal testing in response to specific objectives of the European citizens’ initiative:

• Protect and strengthen the cosmetics animal testing ban: The EU Cosmetics Regulation already prohibits the placing on the market of cosmetic products that have been tested on animals, but this ban does not extend to safety tests required to assess risks from chemicals to workers and the environment under the EU Regulation on the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation, and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH). The interface between the two pieces of legislation is currently being assessed in two cases before the Court of Justice of the European Union. The Commission will consider the outcome of the court cases in view of any future potential legislative changes.
• Transform EU chemicals legislation: The Commission will work together with all relevant parties on a roadmap towards chemical safety assessments that are free from animal testing. The roadmap will serve as a guiding framework for future actions and initiatives aimed at reducing and ultimately eliminating animal testing in the context of chemicals legislation within the European Union.
• Modernise science in the EU: The Commission will continue to strongly support the development of alternative approaches with appropriate funding. It will also initiate a series of actions to accelerate the reduction of animal testing in research, education and training.

EARA has also published an article welcoming the response: https://www.eara.eu/post/eara-welcomes-the-rejection-of-eu-reduction-targets-for-animal-research-by-commission