PARIS — The European Commission on Tuesday said it’s accelerating the speed at which animal testing shall be phased out on the Continent.

The move is available in response to the European Residents’ Initiative, or ECI, called “Save Cruelty-Free Cosmetics — Commit to a Europe Without Animal Testing.”

“The commission welcomes the initiative and acknowledges that animal welfare stays a robust concern for European residents,” the commission said in an announcement. “It highlights the leading role of the EU in phasing out the usage of animals in testing and improving animal welfare usually. This is very reflected in the total ban of animal testing for cosmetics, which has been in place within the EU since 2013.”

The commission said it’s going to introduce a recent road map with legislative and nonlegislative actions to further reduce testing on animals with the goal of ultimately moving to an animal-free regulatory system under the chemicals laws, including Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals, or REACH, and Plant Protection Products Regulation, and proceed supporting animal testing alternatives.

The commission also said it’s going to proceed to back research into the event of animal testing alternatives in addition to possibly look into coordinating member states associated activities.

In response to the ECI, the commission goals to guard and strengthen the cosmetic animal testing ban, transform EU chemical laws and modernize science throughout the EU.

The “Save Cruelty-Free Cosmetics” initiative was registered by the commission on June 30, 2021. Between Aug. 31, 2021, and Aug. 31, 2022, support was collected. On Jan. 25, after the verification of 1.2 million statements of support by the member state authorities, organizers submitted the initiative for examination and reply.

For ECI consideration, signatures from not less than 1 million residents and not less than seven EU member states are required.

That is the fifth successful ECI initiative concerning animal welfare or the environment.

Although the basics of the commission’s accelerated phase-out were lauded, some said it still falls short.

“While campaigners welcome the plan to ultimately eliminate animal testing for chemicals and the longer-term proposals to scale back and phase out the usage of animals in research and education, outrageously, the commission ignored residents’ calls to uphold the ban on animal testing for cosmetics, a ban established by legislators over a decade ago,” Cruelty Free Europe said in an announcement.

“Despite the introduction of an EU ban on animal testing for cosmetics ingredients in 2009, animal tests for chemicals handled by industrial staff or which could also be released into the environment are still being required under the EU’s REACH regulation,” it continued. “Disturbingly, proposed updates to REACH indicate that animal testing for chemicals is about to surge over the approaching years. Slightly than waiting for the EU courts to resolve this issue in an ongoing case, residents’ demands have to be immediately addressed to forestall further animal suffering.

“Although the commission is exploring actions to speed up the event and use of non-animal [testing] methods, they don’t constitute the root-and-branch reform demanded by EU residents via the ECI,” said Cruelty Free Europe.

“The people of Europe have made it clear that experimentation on animals has no place in our modern society,” said Sabrina Engel, chair of the ECI organizing committee. “While we welcome positive motion to switch the usage of animals in experiments and chemical tests, we wholly condemn the commission for failing to finish the suffering of hundreds of animals utilized in cosmetics tests.”

“The commission must now propose meaningful changes to existing laws and policies to set member states, regulators and assessment bodies on the trail to phasing out all uses of animals in laboratories,” she continued. “Due to this fact, we’re calling on all actors to pursue the goals of the ECI.”