The European Ombudsman has overturned a complaint by animal rights NGO People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) against the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) and the European Commission (EC).
The case concerned a joint statement made in October 2014 by the ECHA and EC, which clarified their understanding of the relationship between the Cosmetics Regulation, which bans animal testing, and the REACH Regulation, which allows animal testing of chemicals in certain circumstances.
PETA claimed that the statement showed an ‘unacceptable lack of clarity’ and that the ECHA and EC were encouraging an interpretation of the law that would effectively allow the continued animal testing of chemicals used in cosmetics.
However, the Ombudsman ruled that the statement by ECHA