2023-10-11 12:53:03
This article was originally published in English
The long-awaited EU proposals on animal welfare fail without an official explanation. Some reports suspect that economic objectives are at stake.
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The long-awaited EU proposals on animal welfare are late and it appears that the European Commission will not deliver on its long-promised legislative reform commitments.
Brussels appears to be quietly handling the matter behind closed doors, following leaks that revealed the proposals could be scrapped in an effort to tackle high food prices and inflation gripping the continent.
Animal rights organizations have accused policymakers of making a 180-degree turn and seem not to understand what is happening after the Commission pledged years ago to “end the era of cages.”
The “End of the cage era” was a citizen initiative, signed by almost 1.4 million people in 2020.
He urged the Commission to commit to proposing legislation to phase out the use of cage systems for animals such as chickens, rabbits and ducks by the end of 2023.
The legislative framework also was to include an end to the practice of slaughtering day-old chicks and sale and production of skinsas well as the reduction of the transport of live animals.
The deafening silence of the European Commission
As the moment of truth approached, the news began to cast doubt on the fate of the legislation.
The topic was also not present in the speech on the state of the union by the president of the European CommissionUrsula von der Leyenwhich was seen as an opportunity for him to reveal what his administration still had to do before next year’s European elections.
This did not escape the attention of animal protection NGOs.
Euronews contacted the European Commission but did not receive a response until this article was published.
Finally, at a hearing in the European Parliament on Tuesday, the vice president executive of the European Commission Maroš Šefčovič nominated to oversee the European Green Dealcould not commit to a deadline for the animal welfare proposals in question.
However, Šefčovič did not fail to repeat that proposals on animal welfare remain a priority for the coming months.
The following day, on World Animal Day, Šefčovič wrote to MEPs stating that the European Commission will present its proposal to protect animals while they are transported, in December 2023.
However, he did not commit to any deadline in relation to the rest of the animal welfare issues, noting that the Commission will continue to work on the remaining proposals.
Animal welfare organisations, including FOUR PAWS International and Compassion in World Farming, immediately reacted, saying that the European Commission is not delivering on what it promised.
Compassion in World Farming stated that “the Commission slaps democracy and signals the end of the EU’s animal welfare revolution.”
“The Commission’s U-turn on the much-heralded animal welfare reform is a failure for democracy and the European project,” said Olga Kikou, European Affairs Director at Compassion in World Farming.
Could inflation be the reason for the abandonment of animal welfare?
The European Commission has not yet given clear reasons for abandoning the proposals, but media reports suggest there are fears that the animal welfare amendments could further fuel food inflation.
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El Financial Times (FT) informed of a draft impact assessment by the Commission, which showed how farmers’ costs could increase by an average of 15%, which could lead to a rise in consumer prices and an increase in imports.
According to the draft evaluation, improving broiler housing could mean an increase of one cent in the price of eggs.
In its report, the FT asked EU farmers’ group Copa-Cogeca for its opinion on the proposals, which favored many of the suggested changes as long as they were accompanied by financial aid and as long as imported meat had the same standards than the European one.
Despite these fears, while still high, food inflation has begun to slow in recent months, according to Eurostat, the EU’s statistical office.
Furthermore, the proposals would take years to be approved and implemented, making current food inflation an even less significant factor.
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FOUR PAWS European policy director Joe Moran told Euronews that the proposals remain proposals until they are adopted.
“We’re looking at 2028 and 2027, then there would have to be an implementation period before they actually apply,” he said.
Transition periods for this type of measures usually last between 10 and 15 years.
“So not going ahead with something now because of costs that could spread over 20 years would be, in my opinion, a bit like someone canceling their summer vacation in 10 years because they looked on the Internet and it’s raining today. in their destiny,” Moran said. “It literally doesn’t make any sense. It’s crazy.”
The director shared his suspicion that the suppression of the plans may be “all a matter of optics” in light of the European Commission’s efforts to secure the new EU-Mercosur trade agreement, which includes Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay , before the end of this year.
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The impact of the planned animal welfare proposals on international trade relations
In April 2023, an impact assessment was leaked indicating that the trading partners most affected by the stricter rules would be Brazil and Thailand for poultry meat, and Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay for beef. of beef.
Moran said the European Commission considers it “incredibly dangerous” for the legislative package to come to light in the course of talks, as it could jeopardize a deal if South American imports were required to meet the same strict standards.
“They see it as a kind of straw that could break the camel’s back,” he said.
Moran added that the initially planned proposals were ready to move to the inter-service consultation phase and be finally published within weeks. He doesn’t understand why, at this point, they can’t go public.
“A proposal is just a proposal. […] We simply ask you to make these texts public before the MEPs, before the Member States,” said Moran. “Then they can be modified. They can be changed. But at least these kinds of debates should be held in the light of day in a democracy. “I don’t think they should be held behind closed doors,” she continued.
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Thatis at stake?
The director drew attention to the pressing problems that the proposals were supposed to address, such as ending the castration of piglets, preventing calves from being separated from their mothers as soon as they are born, and preventing chickens from growing at such a rate that they are basically not They cannot stand up because their legs cannot support their own weight.
The European Food Safety Authority points out that the welfare of farm animals is directly related to the safety of the food chain, and that the relationship between animal welfare, animal health and foodborne diseases is close, since stress factors and Poor welfare increases animals’ susceptibility to communicable diseases.
It is worth remembering that in the European Union there is no serious concern about food safety, since the bloc already has the strictest animal welfare standards in the world.
While acknowledging that the EU is a leader in many respects, Moran stresses that other parts of the world are better at regulating certain aspects of animal welfare, such as bans on the export of live animals, even though their overall welfare regulations pale in comparison to Europe’s.
“If we want the EU to remain a world leader in animal welfare, we need these proposals now,” he said.
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