Brussels, 16/10/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 16 October, the European Commission announced that the Netherlands is facing an enormous fine for still having failed to transpose EU legislation on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes into its national legislation (Directive 2010/63/EU).
Despite several reminders to comply, this member state has still not fulfilled its obligations, although the deadline to do so was in November 2012. By referring the matter to the European Court of Justice, the Commission is calling on the Court to impose a daily fine of €51,156 on the Dutch authorities until the directive is transposed into domestic law. The Commission is hoping that this pressure will encourage the Netherlands to ensure swift complaince with European rules. The 2010/63/EU directive is intended to minimise the use of animals in experiments and requires alternatives to be used where possible. The legislation also lays down minimum standards for housing and care of animals, and regulates their use, taking into consideration criteria such as pain, suffering distress and lasting harm caused to the animals. (AN)