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Revision of 86/609 delayed again
It was widely expected that the Commission would adopt their proposal for the new directive on animal experimentation during the German Presidency, which lasts until the end of June 2007. Once adopted, it would be published and sent to the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament to begin its first reading.
However, we have recently learned that technical issues with the legal drafting are taking longer than expected to resolve and the adoption may be not be until September or October. It is worth remembering that almost every stage in the lengthy process involved in developing the proposal has taken significantly longer than expected, so it is quite possible that it may take even longer.
In addition, Commissioner Dimas (Environment) has had an operation and is still sick in the US. So, given the forthcoming summer break, it looks as though even the inter-service consultation, where the different DGs discuss the draft among themselves, is unlikely to start before October.