Ln September 13, during your State of the Union speech, you sent an extremely negative signal about the lack of ambition of the Commission European Union to present the legislative package dedicated to improving the condition of animals in breeding, transport and slaughterhouses.
This revision of European regulations, announced in 2020, was to be published this fall, based on scientific opinions issued by the European Food Safety Authority [EFSA] and based on the observation, by the Commission itself in its quality assessment published in 2022, that the current texts are obsolete and incomplete.
The regulatory review committee has already validated the proposal presented to it by the European Commission, which is part of the “farm to fork” strategy (From farm to fork). However, according to your intention sheet, also published on September 13, this legislative package would no longer be part of the priorities of the European Green Deal.
Gradual exit from cage farming
This is perhaps not the priority of a potential candidate for her own re-election, who must therefore deal with the position of the European right, hostile to any improvement in the animal condition, but it is a priority for those and those who mobilized through the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI), particularly for the end of cages.
This revision is an opportunity to standardize legislation to protect breeders from distortions of competition between the different Member States, but also to guarantee the competitiveness of the agricultural sector thanks to the inclusion of “mirror measures” so that imported products comply with the standards imposed on European producers.
On August 23, my colleagues spoke with the French Minister of Agriculture, Marc Fesneau, who said he was in favor of this necessary revision of the legislation, in particular the gradual exit from cage farming with support from the rabbit industry.
By sacrificing this expected revision under inflationary pretexts, you are proving the Copa-Cogeca lobby right [Comité des organisations professionnelles agricoles de l’Union européenne] so that nothing is done to improve the fate of the animals. You also betray the States which wish to commit to and support good practices, and those which, within your Commission, have been working for years to raise European standards of “animal welfare”.
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