A milestone with loopholes: ECEAE welcomes EU chemical testing roadmap
- Press release
The European Coalition to End Animal Experiments (ECEAE) welcomes the official publication of the European Commission’s long-awaited Roadmap towards phasing out animal testing for chemical safety assessments. This historic strategy document is the direct consequence of the successful European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) “Save Cruelty-Free Cosmetics - Committ to a Europe without animal testing”, which was co-initiated and driven by the ECEAE and supported by over 1.2 million European citizens. Over the past three years, the ECEAE has actively participated in intense stakeholder dialogues and regulatory workshops with the European Commission to shape this document, consistently advocating for a swift and comprehensive transition to human-relevant, non-animal methods (NAMs). While the newly published roadmap marks the start of a fundamental paradigm shift, the ECEAE warns that a critical lack of political consistency and commitment to timelines could delay the ultimate goal of a total phase-out.
On a scientific level, the roadmap introduces groundbreaking elements that align with modern toxicology. Most notably, the roadmap endorses moving away from the outdated approach of trying to replace animal tests on a strict one-to-one basis. Instead, it embraces the Next-Generation Risk Assessment (NGRA) framework, which relies on a mechanistic understanding of human biology through advanced computational and in-vitro models. Whilst the roadmap falls short of outlining a clear pathway towards animal-free safety assessment, as was hoped, the associated Staff Working Document outlines many initiatives that represent steps along the way such as the implementation of an innovative in-silico pilot project for acute oral toxicity designed to rapidly eliminate animal use for this test.
The ECEAE strongly supports the roadmap’s short-term commitments, including;
- Creation of a roadmap steering group which will include NGOs (mid 2026)
- Implementation of a set of indicators linked to individual actions which will be publicly reported in an online dashboard (end 2026)
- Various workshops on specific non-animal approaches (2026-2029)
- Legislative proposals, as appropriate, to implement short-term actions in relevant Union legislation (end 2029)
- A review of the roadmap’s success in a conference (end 2029)
Despite these triumphs, the ECEAE expresses deep concern over the roadmap's structural and political shortcomings, which could threaten its progress. The roadmap does not include an overall target for animal testing reduction and there are few mid to long term deadlines for achievements and activities. The roadmap remains vague regarding concrete financial commitments, timelines for replacement and whether there will be a revision and continued support after 2029, which shows a disappointing lack of support at the highest level of the Commission.
Speaking from the joint European Commission and EPAA roadmap implementation conference currently taking place in Brussels, Dr. Tamara Zietek, Chair of the ECEAE, stated:
"The publication of this roadmap is a monumental testament to the power of European citizens who demanded an end to animal suffering in laboratories. Science has clearly paved the way for an animal-free future, but a roadmap is only as good as its implementation. We call on the European Commission to fully support the roadmap with political consistency in its own actions, provision of dedicated funding and a commitment to refresh the roadmap with new targets after 2029. The ECEAE is on the ground at the EPAA conference this week, actively engaging in the human health and paradigm change working groups to ensure that the transition remains swift and robust."
The ECEAE remains committed to working constructively with the roadmap project steering group to assist in the crucial implementation phase. We will seek to maintain political pressure on the Commission and member states to ensure that the roadmap is executed not as an aspiration, but as an uncompromising victory for both animal welfare and superior human health protection.