In the context of the revision of Directive 86/609/EEC on the protection of animals used in experiments, the Council of Ministers (representatives of the 27 Member States of the EU) briefly discussed this week the state of the negotiations with the European Parliament. A provisional report had been agreed earlier this month, but could not yet be considered as the final position of the Council as there are still some unresolved issues.

The implementation of the Lisbon Treaty started on the 1st December and is affecting the process of revision of the Directive. Additionally Member States, including Finland, the Netherlands and Denmark have yesterday expressed their reservations on some aspects of the compromise agreed with the Parliament. Those countries share the European coalition to End Animal Experiments (ECEAE), of which the BUAV is a member, concerns about some proposals:

• Not giving Member States a full right to adopt stricter rules than those set in the Directive is unacceptable, because that would prevent animal protection being improved in the future, as public opinion and scientific knowledge about animals’ ability to feel pain evolves.
• There should be no exceptions to the (already limited) restrictions on the use of non-human primates
• There should be no exceptions to the prohibition on the use animals in severe and prolonged experiments

Some political groups in the European Parliament have struggled to get these proposals taken into account during the negotiations with the Council, and are still uncomfortable with some aspects of the compromise that the ECEAE believes is detrimental to animal welfare interests as it stands. The ECEAE is therefore still continuing to press for improvements of other areas of the proposals.

The Council is now expected to adopt its first reading position early in 2010 and the European Parliament will vote its report a few weeks later.