Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1413221
23.9.2021 6 EUROPE THE European Parliament has embraced an historic opportunity to take animal suf- fering out of the equation and shift the fo- cus to modern, human relevant technolo- gies. e recent adoption of a resolution vote calls on the European Commission to establish an EU-wide Action Plan for the active phase out of the use of animals in experiments by defining milestones and targets to incentivise progress in the replacement of animals with non-animal human-relevant methods. Nearly 10 million animals are used in invasive experiments in EU laboratories every year, including monkeys, dogs, cats, rabbits, rats and mice, a huge num- ber of animals that has remained rela- tively unchanged in the last decade. e vote has been welcomed by animal wel- fare groups; Humane Society Interna- tional called the vote "an historic oppor- tunity to take animal suffering out of the equation and shift the focus to modern, cutting-edge, human relevant research." Whilst acknowledging European-level initiatives to reduce and refine the use of animals, the Parliament recognised that an active, coordinated approach for the full replacement of animals has not been achieved. By requiring an EU-wide action plan with an ambitious timeline and list of milestones, the European Parliament is aiming to drive the active phase-out of animals used for all scien- tific purposes. Eurogroup for Animals, Cruelty Free Europe, Humane Society International/ Europe, the European Coalition to End Animal Experiments and PETA, repre- senting over 100 organisations from 24 EU Member States, have campaigned for the passing of the resolution. e groups are now calling on the Commission to make it a priority. Troy Seidle, Humane Society Interna- tional's vice president for research and toxicology, says: "is vote signals the need for systemic change in the EU's approach to safety science and health research, with Parliament embracing an historic opportunity to take animal suf- fering out of the equation and shift the focus to modern, human relevant tech- nologies. If our goal isn't to cure cancer in mice or prevent birth defects in rabbits, we need to let go of the unfounded belief that these animals are miniature people and get serious about understanding and predicting human biology in the real world. Human organ-chips, stem cell models and next-generation computing allow us to do exactly that, and can de- liver considerable benefits in the study of uniquely human diseases and the as- sessment of potential new medicines and chemical safety generally. Today with this historic vote, the EU Parliament is calling for pro-active and coherent pol- icies to phase-out animal experiments, such as preferential funding for non-an- imal methods, training scientists in new technologies and key regulatory changes to chemicals legislation. We call on the Commission to embrace these propos- als and recognise that an Action Plan to hasten our departure from animal-based science is in all our interests." Opinion polls show that ending ani- mal experiments is a priority for EU cit- izens: nearly three quarters (72%) agree that the EU should set binding targets and deadlines to phase out testing on animals. is is being echoed by the achievements of the recently launched European Citizens' Initiative Save Cru- elty Free Cosmetics – Commit to a Eu- rope without Animal Testing, which has already gathered more than 120,000 sig- natures in less than three weeks. While the EU Parliament vote is not le- gally binding, it does now place significant political pressure on the European Com- mission to respond (usually within three months) and act. HSI/Europe urges the Commission to create the Action Plan re- quested by Parliament, and stands ready to assist the Commission in devising and implementing concrete proposals. European Parliament approves EU plan to replace animal experiments with cutting-edge science THE European Council head and Aus- tralia's premier on Tuesday discussed Canberra's new security pact with the US and UK, whose announcement last week shunted aside France's previous agree- ment with the Australian government. European Council President Charles Michel and Prime Minister Scott Mor- rison, who are both in New York for the UN General Assembly, had a "frank, di- rect and lively exchange" on the AUKUS alliance, the top EU official explained on Twitter, using diplomatic terms usually signaling a difficult conversation. "Clarity is needed between friends. Dialogue is key to build strong partner- ships," he added. "Transparency and dialogue are key to be able to maintain the rules-based international order. Partners should inform each other on issues of broad geo-strategic importance," an EU offi- cial told journalists following the meet- ing. e EU official added that "it will be important for Australia to engage with the EU and its member states to build confidence and strong partnership," referring to the recent tensions in EU-Australia relations. Last week, Australia suddenly can- celed a $66 billion submarine deal with France after the new Indo-Pacific secu- rity deal was unveiled by US President Joe Biden, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and Morrison. Canberra said it would build nucle- ar-powered submarines with its part- ners from the AUKUS alliance instead of purchasing them from Paris. France blasted the deal as a "stab in the back" and recalled its ambassadors from Canberra and Washington for consultations. In a Monday interview with CNN, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said France "has been treated in a way that is not acceptable and a lot of open questions about the AUKUS deal have to be answered." EU, Australian leaders talk Canberra's deal with US, UK This article is part of a content series called Ewropej. This is a multi-newsroom initiative part-funded by the European Parliament to bring the work of the EP closer to the citizens of Malta and keep them informed about matters that affect their daily lives. These articles reflect only the authors' view. The European Parliament is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains.