Directive 2010/63/EU of 22 September 2010 lays down that experiments should not be carried out on animals where alternatives exist, and stresses that research should be carried out to promote alternatives that can bring the EU closer to not using animal experiments at all. In that connection, as is well known and as I acknowledge and appreciate, many steps have been taken, namely the banning of animal experiments for cosmetics, detergents, etc. However, that still raises the question of a ban on animal experiments for testing substances in household products. What is the next step?

The abovementioned directive still uses a classification of legal animal experiments including ‘severe’. The ‘severe’ category is intended, as far as I know, to cover electric shocks and experiments leading to complete exhaustion, for example. The directive also seeks an ongoing reduction in the number of animal experiments.

Would the Commission therefore answer the following questions: