Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on the "Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Council Directive 86/609/EEC on the approximation of laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Members States regarding the protection of animals used for experimental and other scientific purposes"
Date: 2002-02-20
Institutions: European Economic and Social Committee
Subjects: animal experimentation, animal welfare, approximation of laws, protection of animals

18.4.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 94/5

Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on the ‘Proposal for a Directive of the European
Parliament and of the Council amending Council Directive 86/609/EEC on the approximation of
laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Members States regarding the protection
of animals used for experimental and other scientific purposes’

(2002/C 94/02)

On 25 January 2002 the Council decided to consult the Economic and Social Committee, under
Article 95 of the EC Treaty, on the above-mentioned proposal.

The Section for Agriculture, Rural Development and the Environment, which was responsible for the
Committee’s work on the subject, adopted its opinion on 29 January 2002. The rapporteur was
Mr Jaschick.

At its 388th Plenary Session of 20 and 21 February 2002 (meeting of 20 February), the Economic and
Social Committee adopted the following opinion by 116 votes with one abstention.

1.

Introduction

1.1.
In 1998 the EU became a party to Council of Europe
Convention ETS 123 for the protection of vertebrate animals
used for experimental and other scientific purposes.

Council Directive 86/609/EEC (1), together with its
1.2.
annexes, is the implementing tool for Convention ETS 123.
The annexes to the Directive need to be adapted on an ongoing
basis to bring them into line with the latest scientific knowledge
and state-of-the-art technology.

1.3. With a view to securing improvements as rapidly as
possible in the physiological and ethological situation of
animals, the Council of Europe has put forward a ‘Protocol of
Amendment’ (ETS 170) to Convention ETS 123, setting out a
simplified procedure for adapting the appendices to the
Convention more quickly. The Commission thinks that the EU
will scarcely be able to comply with its obligations under the
Convention unless use is made of the ‘Regulatory Committee
Procedure’ as it is proposing.

2.3.1.
This exercise should also introduce a reference to
certain basic welfare elements: the three Rs (2) and the five
freedoms (3), as provided by the ETS 87 on the Protection of
animals kept for farming purposes.

The ESC notes that three Member States (Belgium,
2.3.2.
France and the Netherlands) have still not transposed this
Directive into their national legislation even 15 years after its
adoption. The ESC is aware that currently three cases are
pending before the European Court of
Justice involving
Belgium, France and the Netherlands. In an earlier opinion (1)
the ESC stipulated clearly that ‘the method of enforcement of
this Directive will be essential to achieving its aims’.

The Committee deplores this situation, especially
2.3.2.1.
since the inadequate implementation in some Member States
runs counter to the goal of protecting animals.

2.3.2.2.
The Committee would encourage the Commission
to continue to take all appropriate steps to bring about full
implementation of the Directive at long last.

2. General comments

2.1.
The ESC endorses the Commission’s proposal, subject
to the comments set out below. By providing for a simplified
procedure, the Commission’s proposal is conducive to securing
improved protection for animals within a relatively short
period (Phase 1 of the European Commission’s strategic plan
regarding this topic).

2.3.2.3.
The ESC draws attention to the fact that, at the
present time, only seven signatories (out of 43) have ratified
this Protocol though without putting it into force; five of those
seven are EU Member States (Finland, France, the Netherlands,
Sweden and the UK). In general, this Protocol is still not in
force at the Council of Europe. In addition, the basic text, i.e.
ETS 123, has not yet been ratified by five EU Member States
(Austria, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg and Portugal).

2.2.
The proposed Regulatory Committee Procedure fully
conforms with the EU’s Treaty obligation to take full account
of the need to protect animals.

2.3.2.4.
The ESC urges the Commission to get more EU
Member States to ratify Convention ETS 123 and the Protocol
of Amendment.

The ESC, nonetheless, calls for in-depth revision of
the European

2.3.
Council Directive 86/609/EEC (Phase 2 of
Commission’s strategic plan).

(1) OJ C 207, 18.8.1986, p. 3.

(2) Replacement, reducing and refinement.
(3) Freedom from hunger, thirst, stress, pain, injury and illness and
freedom to express physiological behaviour, in order to prevent
the occurrence of phenomena such as cannibalism.

(4) OJ C 207, 18.8.1986, p. 3.

C 94/6

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

18.4.2002

3. Specific comments

The ESC approves the Commission’s proposal

(see
3.1.
point 2.1 above), even though the Regulatory Committee
Procedure for amending the Annexes to the Directive in
question would result in the ESC’s exclusion from the consul-
tation procedure (the EP would still be consulted under the
‘right of inspection’). In the past the ESC already stipulated that
‘the Annexes to the proposed Directive are of great significance.
It must be clear as to whether any additional consultation
procedure is envisaged. Small changes in the Annexes could
be of major significance to science and industry’ (1) (2).

3.2.
The ESC’s endorsement is therefore conditional upon
the European Commission taking account of the following
points when revising the Directive (Phase 2):

— the need to involve in its preparatory work all stake-
holders (3) and in particular NGOs and animal welfare
associations;

— the need to review Directive 86/609/EEC forthwith;

— the need to involve the competent Scientific Committee
of the European Commission (the Scientific Committee
on Animal Health and Animal Welfare — SCAHAW).

The ESC expresses such willingness,

3.2.1.
taking into
account that the European Community, being party to the
ETS 123, would be obliged to fulfil certain commitments; still,
it recalls that international conventions such as the one in
question (type of
‘mixed’ agreements) do not necessarily
involve legally binding provisions.

3.3.
Furthermore, Directive 86/609/EC has now been in
existence for 15 years and no longer reflects the latest scientific
knowledge, a view which is also shared by the Commission;
inter alia, the definitions must be revised.

(1) OJ C 207, 18.8.1986, p. 3.
(2) Endeavours should be made to find possible ways of enabling the
ESC to be involved, in a particularly appropriate form, in the
channel of information.

(3) Including the ESC.

Brussels, 20 February 2002.

3.4.
The scope of Convention ETS 123 has also been
extended and it now also covers animals used for education
and training purposes.

And finally,

3.5.
the Commission should improve the
checking and welfare of particular species, such as non-human
primates (4).

3.6.
The European Community should withdraw its reser-
vation contained in the instrument of approval deposited on
30 April 1998 regarding its refusal to be bound by the
obligations to communicate statistical data, as laid down in
Article 28 of the ETS 123. This reservation is the reason for
the lack of appropriate and homogeneous results, as shown by
the Second report from the Commission to the Council and
the European Parliament on the statistics on the number of
animals used for experimental and other scientific purposes in
the Member States and in the European Union. The European
Community should invite France, Germany and Portugal to
follow in doing the same.

In parallel, the European Commission should urge
3.6.1.
Member States to comply fully and more effectively with the
provisions of Articles 13 and 26 of Directive 86/609/EEC by,
for example, pressing them to draw up annual reports.

The Committee acknowledges the high reputation,
3.7.
both throughout Europe and worldwide, of the European
Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods (ECVAM); its
contribution to this matter in validating alternative testing
procedures,
is of major
in particular in vitro procedures,
importance.

4.

Field of application

The Committee expressly welcomes the inclusion of
4.1.
the EEA in the field of application of the Directive and thinks
that Switzerland should also be included, as soon as the
opportunity presents itself.

4.2.
The Committee assumes that the Commission will
encourage the candidate states to create the requisite conditions
to enable them to adopt these provisions as rapidly as possible.

(4) In this context one should also examine the situation in their
countries of origin of species used for experimental purposes,
particularly in the case of non-human primates and endangered
species.

The President

of the Economic and Social Committee

Göke FRERICHS