What Anja spoke about.

Mr President, undercover images from the German lab LPT and the Spanish Vivotecnia show that dogs, cats, rodents and monkeys are brutally abused, that they have to endure painful experiments without anaesthesia, that they are kicked and beaten and left to their own devices. How is it that this only comes to light after whistleblowers ring the bell? And why does the Commission still use the data collected by these labs for the decisions it takes – for example for the authorisation of the agricultural poison glyphosate – when the scientific value of these data is very low? The aim of the Directive to protect animals used for scientific research is to be ready-made. All animal experiments should be replaced by non-animal methods. And yet the number of experiments on animals is declining only slowly. In many European countries, the number of animal experiments is even increasing again. Worldwide, there are already great developments, innovative and affordable cell and tissue cultures and computer simulations. Our own Joint Research Centre and CEVMA have also validated impressive alternatives, but far too little use is made of them. Commissioner, what will you do to promote these alternatives and to fully focus on the development of new technologies? Since 1993, the goal in the European Union has been to reduce animal testing. Stopping animal testing is in the interest of animals and people. Will you finally take care of this after 30 years?

Mr President, Commissioner and Minister, Antarctica and the Southern Ocean were the last unspoilt natural areas on earth, the last wildernesses. Where, because their numerous and unique ecosystems are under pressure from climate change, pollution, overfishing, ocean acidification and harmful tourism. And why do we let this happen? Time is running out to take action to provide this area with the protection it so urgently needs. How can we protect Antarctica from further decline and give biodiversity a chance to recover? This can only be done by truly protecting its new and existing nature reserves. This means that there is no place for fishing, whaling, deep-sea mining, oil and gas extraction, and certainly not for large cruise ships and uncontrolled tourism. Penguins, sea lions and orcas must be able to live undisturbed and the protected areas must be ecologically linked to clear conservation plans to save these unique ecosystems. Only with strict protection of the Antarctic will we ensure the health of our oceans, its function as a carbon sink, and increase the resilience of these marine ecosystems to the effects of climate change. I also believe that European agricultural and fisheries subsidies should be abolished.