EU Parliament urges worldwide ban on animal-tested cosmetics

Pixabay (ilustracija)

After the testing of cosmetics on animals was banned in the European Union, on Thursday the European Parliament has called for a worldwide ban.

In a new Resolution adopted on May 3, the European Parliament called for a global ban on testing cosmetic products on animals, and a ban on marketing and sales of these types of products by 2023.

The Resolution called on the European Union to lead the fight for the global ban within the UN framework, and make sure that the existing strict bans are not weakened through trade deals or regulations within the World Trade Organisation.

Animal testing has been banned in the European Union since 2004 for cosmetic products and their ingredients. The marketing of products containing animal-tested ingredients was also gradually banned across the EU.

The ban on sales of animal-tested cosmetic products in 2013 did not hinder the success of the European cosmetic industry which accounts for some two million jobs in the EU, and the sector’s potential for development lies in research and innovation, as well as the development of alternative methods, said the Parliament.

Around 80 percent of countries worldwide still allow animal testing, as well as the marketing and sales of animal-tested cosmetic products.

MEP’s also mentioned that, due to the loopholes within EU law, some animal-tested cosmetics are imported to the EU and placed on the EU market. The EU should enact legislation to make sure that no product placed on its market has been tested on animals in a non-EU country, they added.

According to a survey conducted by Eurobarometer in 2016, some 90 percent of EU nationals polled agreed that the standards for animal welfare should be recognised worldwide, and 89 percent said that the EU should do more to promote the importance of animal welfare on the international level, the Parliament said.

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