HSI Europe achieved an important victory in May 2008, when the European Parliament endorsed, by overwhelming majority, a resolution chastising EU regulators for moving too slowly to accept 3Rs methods that have been endorsed as scientifically valid, and calling for significant changes to European Commission internal procedures to accelerate the acceptance of non-animal tests in the future, with increased transparency and stakeholder involvement.
The move came in response to concerns [PDF] raised by HSI Europe that a new regulation proposed by the European Commission—which will replace the list of EU-recognised tests for human health, ecological and other effects—contains obsolete animal tests that should be deleted, and overlooks a number of EU-endorsed methods that replace or reduce animal use. In so doing, the draft regulation fails to satisfy either the requirements of EU Animal Experiments Directive 86/609, which requires that non-animal methods be used whenever reasonably and practicably available, or those of the REACH chemicals regulation, which stipulates that adoption of alternative, non-animal test methods should take place "as soon as possible."
| Update |
| On November 11, 2008, the European Commission made available a new online tool that will allow the public to better monitor the EU’s progress in implementing animal testing alternatives. |
In April 2008, the European Parliament launched a legal procedure to reject the proposed test methods regulation unless the Commission could demonstrate substantive effort to remove barriers to the regulatory acceptance of non-animal test methods. This decisive political move prompted a
written commitment [PDF] by the Commission to implement more streamlined and transparent procedures for EU acceptance of alternative test methods for regulatory purposes.
In light of the Commission’s self-commitment, the European Parliament resolved not to oppose the adoption of the test methods regulation, provided the Commission comes back by the end of 2008 with a proposal for updating the regulation to address the non-animal methods that were overlooked, as well as the obsolete animal tests.
HSI Europe remains in active dialogue with the European Commission to ensure that progress continues in the months ahead.
