The European Parliament has voted to ban the testing of cosmetic products on animals, as well as the marketing of these goods.
Member-states will now have to consider further the proposed legislation before it is enacted. The ban could be in place within five years.
A marketing ban on products tested on animals was due to start in 1998, but the EU Commission postponed its introduction because there was no alternative available. There are fears the ban could be challenged at the World Trade Organisation (WTO), as it would be against its regulations.
The Commission had proposed only a testing ban, not a marketing ban, a proposal which would mean products tested on animals outside the EU could be subsequently sold within the Union, the Green MEP, Ms Patricia McKenna, said. "Banning testing alone, as the Commission has been advocating, is not a solution. It just exports the problem," she said.
The State's MEPs broadly welcomed the result of the vote.
Mr Proinsias De Rossa (Labour) said: "At a time when the people are demanding higher standards from the food industry, the cosmetics industry continues to market products which contain potentially harmful ingredients".
Parliament also voted yesterday for the introduction of proper labelling of products tested on animals.
A Fianna Fail MEP, Mr Jim Fitzsimons, welcomed the result as "consumers must be in a position to make an informal choice on these matters, and to do so they must be given the necessary information".