the National Committee for the Protection of Animals Used for Scientific or Educational Purposes.

National Committee for the Protection of Animals Used for Scientific or Educational Purposes is organized and functions as a structure without legal personality within the National Sanitary Veterinary and Food Safety Authority. National Committee consists of representatives of the National Sanitary Veterinary and Food Safety Authority, the biomedical academic environment, College of Veterinarians, other professional associations and organizations in the field of animal welfare, specialized in the field of veterinary science. National Committee shall have the following responsibilities: (a) provides the structures responsible for the protection of animals within the territorially competent authorities and units, users/suppliers/ breeders of animals used for scientific purposes, offering consultancy on matters relating to acquisition, rearing, housing, care and the use of animals in the aforesaid procedures; (b) participates in the exchange of information on best practices on issues related to acquisition, rearing, housing, care and use of animals in procedures, with representatives of committees for the protection of animals used for scientific or educational purposes from other Member States of the European Union; (c) participates, at the request of the Commission, at meetings with the chairs of the national committees for protection of animals used for scientific or educational purposes in other states; (d) develops and promotes good practice guidelines on evaluation projects that use animals in procedures; (e) collaborates with specialists from the territorially competent authorities that have attributions in the field of authorization projects that use animals in the aforesaid procedures and provide advice thereon; (f) provides advice to members of the structures responsible for animal welfare; (g) verifies the information contained in the reports; (h) formulates views on drafts of normative acts elaborated in the field of competence; (i) participates in activities organized in the field of laboratory animal science; (j) approves statistical information transmitted annually to the European Commission on the use of animals in the aforesaid procedures; (k) offers specialized support to local research ethics committees; and (l) provides counseling on the implementation of the legal framework for vocational training and education in the field of protection of animals used for scientific research and educational purposes.