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Verheugen goes alternative
A high-level EU conference on alternatives is being sponsored by the Commission Vice-President, Gunter Verheugen.
Commission Vice President Gunter Verheugen, who is also Commissioner for enterprise and industry, takes a particular interest in alternatives to animal testing and, together with Research Commissioner Janez Potocnik, is holding a ‘Europe goes Alternative’ conference at the European Parliament in Brussels on 7 November. Speakers will include high-level representatives and experts from industry, animal welfare organisations, academia, and national, European and international institutions.
According to the Commission, the objectives of the conference are to demonstrate that the European Union keeps animal welfare high on the political agenda and remains in the lead for animal protection; to demonstrate industry’s approach to actively research alternative methods; to demonstrate progress made in the area of alternative methods to animal tests at EU and international level; and to identify further possibilities to improve development and validation of alternative methods.
The conference is aimed at the all three R's rather than just replacement alternatives. One important aspect of the event will be the launch of a Declaration on the Three R's with backing from the Commission and the pharmaceutical, chemical and cosmetic industries.
The conference will focus on policy issues, says the Commission. “It is seen as complementary to the 5th World Congress on Alternatives & Animal Use in Life Sciences, which took place in Berlin from 21-25 August 2005 and addressed mainly scientific issues.”
The draft programme and on-line registration can be found at
http://europa.eu.int/comm/enterprise/events/animal_tests/index_en.htm