Improving reporting on the implementation of the EU Directive on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes

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Improving reporting on the implementation of the EU Directive on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes

15 July 2022
News
In line with Article 54(1) of Directive 2010/63/EU (the Directive), Member States are required to submit to the European Commision (EC) information on its implementation once every five years.

Accurate and comprehensive reporting on aspects of the implementation of the Directive offers a great opportunity to get a comprehensive understanding of how the Directive is implemented within each Member State by assessing the different governance, infrastructures, processes and operations at national level. 

Reports covering the first five years of the functioning of the Directive (i.e. the period 2013-2017) were submitted by Member States to the EC in 2018 using a EU Survey. The analysis of these reports made it possible to identify recurring shortfalls, such as unanswered mandatory questions, conflicting information, as well as incomplete or incorrect data, most often because of a misunderstanding of the reporting requirements.

The second submission of information on the implementation of the Directive will cover the years 2018-2022, and is due to be submitted by the Member States to the EC by 10 November 2023. To this end, Eurogroup for Animals prepared tailored summary reports for the 14 Member States that use the highest number of animals for scientific purposes, as well as a general summary report for all other Member States on the basis of the information submitted by Member States to the 2018 EU Survey. The aim of these reports is to help Member States improve the quality of their next reports, harmonise data content, and address any inconsistencies by providing recommendations on legally required data to be reported, and on how Member States can better report information based on best practices among the answers of the countries to the EC 2018 survey.

After the publication of the second implementation reports by the EC, Eurogroup for Animals will thoroughly analyse the new information to compile best practices among all countries. Only by harmonising information and improving transparency on the implementation of this Directive, the EU and its Member States will be able to strengthen best practices, the culture of care in laboratories, and the application of the 3Rs.

Download our general summary report: 

Download our tailored summary reports: