Considerations on COM(2000)189 - Amendment of Council Directive 76/768/EEC on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to cosmetic products - Main contents
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| dossier | COM(2000)189 - Amendment of Council Directive 76/768/EEC on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to cosmetic ... |
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| document | COM(2000)189  |
| date | February 27, 2003 |
(2) The Protocol on protection and welfare of animals annexed by the Treaty of Amsterdam to the Treaty establishing the European Community provides that the Community and the Member States are to pay full regard to the welfare requirements of animals in the implementation of Community policies, in particular with regard to the internal market.
(3) Council Directive 86/609/EEC of 24 November 1986 on the approximation of laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States regarding the protection of animals used for experimental and other scientific purposes(5) has established common rules for the use of animals for experimental purposes within the Community and laid down the conditions under which such experiments must be carried out in the territory of the Member States. In particular, Article 7 of that Directive requires that animal experiments be replaced by alternative methods, when such methods exist and are scientifically satisfactory. In order to facilitate the development and use of alternative methods in the cosmetic sector which do not use live animals, specific provisions have been introduced by Council Directive 93/35/EEC of 14 June 1993 amending for the sixth time Directive 76/768/EEC on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to cosmetic products(6).
However, these provisions concern only alternative methods which do not use animals and they do not take account of alternative methods developed in order to reduce the number of animals used for experiments or to reduce their suffering. Therefore, in order to afford optimal protection to animals used for testing cosmetic products pending implementation of the prohibition of animal tests for cosmetic products and the marketing of animal-tested cosmetic products in the Community, these provisions should be amended in order to provide for the systematic use of alternative methods, which reduce the number of animals used or reduce the suffering caused, in those cases where full replacement alternatives are not yet available, as provided by Article 7(2) and (3) of Directive 86/609/EEC, when these methods offer consumers a level of protection equivalent to that of the conventional methods which they are intended to replace.
(4) In accordance with Directive 86/609/EEC and with Directive 93/35/EEC, it is essential that the aim of abolishing animal experiments for testing cosmetic products be pursued and that the prohibition of such experiments becomes effective in the territory of the Member States. In order to ensure that this prohibition is fully implemented, it may be necessary for the Commission to bring forward further proposals to amend Directive 86/609/EEC.
(5) Currently, only alternative methods which are scientifically validated by the European Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods (ECVAM) or the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and applicable to the whole chemical sector are systematically adopted at Community level. However, the safety of cosmetic products and their ingredients may be ensured through the use of alternative methods which are not necessarily applicable to all uses of chemical ingredients. Therefore, the use of such methods by the whole cosmetic industry should be promoted and their adoption at Community level ensured, when such methods offer an equivalent level of protection to consumers.
(6) The safety of finished cosmetic products can already be ensured on the basis of knowledge of the safety of the ingredients that they contain. Provisions prohibiting animal testing of finished cosmetic products can therefore be incorporated into Directive 76/768/EEC. The Commission should establish guidelines in order to facilitate the application, in particular by small and medium-sized enterprises, of methods which do not involve the use of animals for assessing the safety of finished cosmetic products.
(7) It will gradually become possible to ensure the safety of ingredients used in cosmetic products by using non-animal alternative methods validated at Community level, or approved as being scientifically validated, by ECVAM and with due regard to the development of validation within the OECD. After consulting the Scientific Committee on Cosmetic Products and Non-Food Products intended for Consumers (SCCNFP) as regards the applicability of the validated alternative methods to the field of cosmetic products, the Commission should immediately publish the validated or approved methods recognised as being applicable to such ingredients. In order to achieve the highest possible degree of animal protection, a deadline must be set for the introduction of a definitive prohibition.
(8) The Commission should establish timetables of deadlines for the prohibition of the marketing of cosmetic products, the final formulation, ingredients or combinations of ingredients which have been tested on animals, and for the prohibition of each test currently carried out using animals, up to a maximum of six years from the date of entry into force of this Directive. In view, however, of the fact that there are no alternatives yet under consideration for tests concerning repeated-dose toxicity, reproductive toxicity and toxicokinetics, it is appropriate for the maximum deadline for the prohibition of the marketing of cosmetic products for which those tests are used to be 10 years from the date of entry into force of this Directive. On the basis of annual reports, the Commission should be authorised to adapt the timetables within the respective abovementioned maximum time limits.
(9) Better coordination of resources at Community level will contribute to increasing the scientific knowledge indispensable for the development of alternative methods. It is essential, for this purpose, that the Community continue and increase its efforts and take the measures necessary for the promotion of research and the development of new non-animal alternative methods, in particular within its Sixth Framework Programme as set out in Decision No 1513/EC/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council(7).
(10) The recognition by non-member countries of alternative methods developed in the Community should be encouraged. In order to achieve this objective, the Commission and the Member States should take all appropriate steps to facilitate acceptance of such methods by the OECD. The Commission should also endeavour, within the framework of European Community cooperation agreements, to obtain recognition of the results of safety tests carried out in the Community using alternative methods so as to ensure that the export of cosmetic products for which such methods have been used is not hindered and to prevent or avoid non-member countries requiring the repetition of such tests using animals.
(11) It should be possible to claim on a cosmetic product that no animal testing was carried out in relation to its development. The Commission, in consultation with the Member States, should develop guidelines to ensure that common criteria are applied in the use of claims and that an aligned understanding of the claims is reached, and in particular that such claims do not mislead the consumer. In developing such guidelines, the Commission must also take into account the views of the many small and medium-sized enterprises which make up the majority of the 'non-animal testing' producers, relevant non-governmental organisations, and the need of consumers to be able to make practical distinctions between products on the basis of animal testing criteria.
(12) The SCCNFP stated in its opinion of 25 September 2001 that substances classified pursuant to Council Directive 67/548/EEC of 27 June 1967 on the approximation of laws, regulations and administrative provisions relating to the classification, packaging and labelling of dangerous substances(8) as carcinogenic (except substances only carcinogenic by inhalation), mutagenic or toxic for reproduction, of category 1 or 2, and substances with similar potential, must not be intentionally added to cosmetic products, and that substances classified pursuant to Directive 67/548/EEC as carcinogenic, mutagenic or toxic for reproduction, of category 3, and substances with similar potential, must not be intentionally added to cosmetic products unless it can be demonstrated that their levels do not pose a threat to the health of the consumer.
(13) Given the special risks that substances classified as carcinogenic, mutagenic or toxic for reproduction, category 1, 2 and 3, pursuant to Directive 67/548/EEC may entail for human health, their use in cosmetic products should be prohibited. A substance classified in category 3 may be used in cosmetics if the substance has been evaluated by the SCCNFP and found acceptable for use in cosmetic products.
(14) In order to improve the information provided to consumers, cosmetic products should bear more precise indications concerning their durability for use.
(15) Certain substances have been identified as an important cause of contact-allergy reactions in fragrance-sensitive consumers. In order to ensure that such consumers are adequately informed, it is therefore necessary to amend the provisions of Directive 76/768/EEC to require that the presence of these substances be mentioned in the list of ingredients. This information will improve the diagnosis of contact allergies among such consumers and will enable them to avoid the use of cosmetic products which they do not tolerate.
(16) A number of substances have been identified by the SCCNFP as likely to cause allergenic reactions and it will be necessary to restrict their use and/or impose certain conditions concerning them.
(17) The measures necessary for the implementation of this Directive should be adopted in accordance with Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission(9).
(18) The provisions of Directive 93/35/EEC banning the marketing of cosmetic products containing ingredients or combinations of ingredients tested on animals should be superseded by the provisions of this Directive. In the interests of legal certainty therefore it is appropriate to apply Article 1(1) of this Directive with effect from 1 July 2002, whilst fully respecting the principle of legitimate expectations.