The European Parliament will discuss during the next week a resolution on a coordinated Union-level plan to facilitate animal-free innovation.

Why?
The European Commission and the Member States have been promoting the 3Rs and non-animal models through a variety of funding and other initiatives that are allowing new advanced methods based on human biology to show their potential and also identify the needs for further developments. However, these initiatives are not yet integrated into regulatory and research funding frameworks in a manner that effectively reduces and replaces the use of animals in research, testing and education.

What?
By requiring the coordinated Union-level plan - like those already implemented for many other policy areas - the European Parliament has the opportunity to ensure that the EU will be equipped with clear means and priorities to achieve the commitments and the ambitions of the Union.
This could mean, for example, that:
• Under Horizon Europe and other research and innovation initiatives, funding of human health-related scientific projects making use of advanced non-animal models could be increased and prioritized.
• The Commission could work together with Member States to accelerate uptake and routine acceptance of advanced non-animal models in regulatory frameworks.
• The private sector, including start-ups, could be more directly connected to end-users to help promote more targeted development of non-animal solutions that stand a better chance of acceptance and use.
• Member States work together to set up common priority areas where the reduction and replacement of animals can be achieved.

The undersigned support the introduction of a motion for resolution by the European Parliament that can facilitate the transition to non-animal science through the definition of common priorities, allocation of funding and multidisciplinary and inter-service collaborations:

Merel Ritskes-Hoitinga - "Important to set clear goals. Cooperation of regulatory authorities with industry and academia are of paramount importance."Outi Vainio  - "Animal trials will end when there are enough alternative methods available. Accordingly, supporting their development is important. At the same time the funding sources should favor non-animal study plans in funding decisions."

Dr Brett A. Lidbury - "We in Australia, follow European developments in this area of innovation closely, with great potential for success in the the EU to flow to Australia and New Zealand. Please note that I am also affiliated with an EU (Dutch) University."

Silvia Panizza - "There is increasing public acknowledgment that animals are not resources at the disposal of human interests. Experimenting on them denies them the most basic rights of living beings. It is imperative that the EU shows in practice the way to a more just multi-species social structure."

Kimberley Jayne - "The Commission must develop a strategy, with clear targets and timelines, to work towards ending all animal experiments to acheive the final goal of full replacement as outlined in Article 10 of Directive 2010/63/EU. The Directive alone is not a strategy. Accelerating the uptake and acceptance of advanced non-animal models into regulatory frameworks is a vital part to achieving the goals of the Directive."