The roundtable discussion in Brussels was led by a group of animal protection groups, including Cruelty Free Europe, and brought together the EC with key stakeholders with expertise from across the spectrum of chemicals safety. Attendees included representatives from European Union institutions, national regulators, industry, academia, environmental protection and human health.

We are confident the meeting can be a critical step in support of the Commission’s roadmap towards the phase-out of animal testing, which they agreed to create in their official response to our European Citizens’ Initiative, ‘Save Cruelty Free Cosmetics – Commit to a Europe Without Animal Testing’.

Delivering the event alongside CFE were the European Coalition to End Animal Experiments, Eurogroup for Animals, PETA, and Humane Society International - Europe.

In 2022, over 1.2 million people demanded the protection and strengthening of the EU ban on animal testing for cosmetics by signing the ECI, which was launched by a coalition of European animal protection groups. In response, the European Commission promised to start planning the total phase-out of animal testing for all chemicals.

The organisers recognised the amount of work required to coordinate a diverse list of industry sectors, interest groups and projects, all working together towards the same objective. They feel that this roundtable format both challenges the Commission to be ambitious and, by helping to bring those stakeholders together in one room, supports them in the delivery of a successful and impactful roadmap.

Our Head of Public Affairs, Dylan Underhill, said: “This meeting represents a positive and successful first step towards our ultimate, shared goal of ending animal testing in Europe. The power of collaboration once again shone through, and we thank everyone who has worked so hard to get us to this point. We now look forward to the report which will follow this meeting, and hopefully start to show us the way forward.”