Today, the Commission is responding to the European Citizens' Initiative (ECI) ‘Save Cruelty-free Cosmetics - Commit to a Europe without Animal Testing'. The response provides a comprehensive overview of the EU's legislative and policy framework relevant to the use of animals for testing purposes. It also proposes additional actions to further reduce animal testing.The Commission welcomes the initiative and acknowledges that animal welfare remains a strong concern for European citizens. It highlights the leading role of the EU in phasing out the use of animals in testing and improving animal welfare in general. This is especially reflected in the full ban of animal testing for cosmetics, which has been in place in the EU since 2013.In addition, the Commission will launch a new roadmap with a set of legislative and non-legislative actions to further reduce animal testing, with the aim to ultimately move to an animal-free regulatory system under chemicals legislation (e.g. REACH, Biocidal Product Regulation, Plant Protection Products Regulation and human and veterinary medicines) and continue strongly supporting alternatives to animal testing.