The European Commission has said it is “firmly committed to phasing out animal testing” as it launches a roadmap for chemical safety assessments. 

The latest statistics on animal use for the EU and Norway show over 9.1 million animals were used in scientific tests and experiments in the EU and Norway in 2023. This includes 450,000 animals used in regulatory tests in European laboratories for the testing of chemicals and medicines. 

The Commission says the roadmap offers “clear, tangible steps” to allow assessments to transition towards non-animal approaches, protecting human and animal health and the environment. 

The roadmap provides three pillars of focus, building on the Chemicals Action Plan presented by the Commission in July 2025. The pillars focus on reducing the uptake of animal approaches, keeping Europe at the forefront of research and innovation, and implementing a framework for stakeholders across the EU. 

“The publication of this roadmap marks a pivotal step towards modernising chemical safety assessments while reinforcing Europe’s leadership in innovation,” said Stéphane Séjourné, Executive Vice-President for Prosperity and Industrial Strategy. 

“By phasing out animal testing, we are not only upholding higher ethical standards but also strengthening our competitiveness through cutting-edge, non-animal alternative technologies.” 

“Phasing out animal testing for chemical safety assessments based on innovation will be a triple win for animals, the environment and companies,” added Jessika Roswall, Commissioner for Environment, Water Resilience and a Competitive Circular Economy. 

“We will now build on this collective momentum to implement the roadmap actions. This will speed up progress towards a new scientific framework that no longer relies on animal testing.”