Backed by more than a million citizens across the European Union, the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) “Save cruelty-free cosmetics - Commit to a Europe without animal testing” was validated by the European Commission in January 2023.
In its response, the Commission undertook in particular to “immediately launch the work to develop a roadmap that will outline milestones and specific actions, to be implemented in the short to longer term, to reduce animal testing and that would be pre-requisites for a transition towards an animal-free regulatory system under relevant pieces of chemical legislation (e.g. REACH, Biocidal Product Regulation, Plant Protection Products Regulation and human and veterinary medicines)”.

The three pilars

In the Commission’s own words, the “Roadmap towards phasing out animal testing for chemical safety assessments” “lays out clear, tangible steps to ensure the transition to innovative non-animal approaches,” while preserving “the integrity of safety evaluations, which ensure a high level of protection for human and animal health and the environment.”

This programme comprises 22 actions, falling under three pillars, aimed at replacing animal testing for chemical safety assessments in 15 areas, including chemicals intended for industrial and consumer use.

Pilar I
It focuses on making …