Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-06-11-Speech-1-085"
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"en.20010611.5.1-085"2
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". – Mr President, I would like to thank the Swedish Presidency for taking the initiative to request this debate. It is a measure of the importance attached to animal welfare by the Presidency, and by Minister Winberg in particular.
A second qualification relates to the role of farmers and the livestock industry in general. There is a danger of stigmatising the very large number of people who work in farming by associating them with images of mistreatment of animals. This is unfair, untrue and counterproductive. Ultimately, farmers are the persons in closest contact with animals and are the most conscious of their needs and behaviour. The vast majority clearly treat their animals in a good and humane manner. We can either choose to work with the farming community on these issues or risk alienating them. I know where I stand on this: work with the farmers.
Turning to more general issues, I would like to signal some clear Commission orientations. First, animal welfare questions need to be integrated more fully into food policy. I reject the argument that animal welfare has nothing to do with food safety. I insist that it is an issue which should be included in the policy agenda of the European Food Authority. This applies in particular as regards scientific advice and information, which the authority should provide to the Commission on all matters having a direct or indirect impact on consumer health and safety.
Second, there is the need for further Community actions. There are a number of important initiatives already before the Council and Parliament, for example the proposal on improved welfare conditions for pigs reared in intensive rearing systems. This proposal includes provision for the abolition of individual sow stalls, a major and legitimate demand of welfare activists. The presidency is very anxious to reach final agreement on this proposal. This, however, requires an opinion from Parliament and I hope that you will be in a position to respond favourably to the request for the urgent adoption of this opinion this week. That would provide a very positive signal of Parliament's own commitment to animal welfare.
There is also a proposal for improved humidity and ventilation systems on trucks transporting animals. The Commission is also awaiting an opinion expected in October from the Scientific Committee on Animal Health and Animal Welfare on densities and travelling times. This opinion will help shape our future policy on animal transport, which will be discussed in depth in the Agriculture Council later this month.
Third, I intend to continue to focus on the global dimension in the issue of animal welfare and animal products, including the World Trade Organisation. There is a common misconception that this is a protectionist agenda. This is unfair. Europe is progressively implementing higher welfare standards. We have a duty and a responsibility to press for recognition of these standards both on purely ethical grounds in recognition of the need for the humane treatment of animals and in recognition of the higher costs which these standards entail for producers and consumers in the European Union. These are legitimate issues which deserve to be discussed on the international stage.
Finally, the Commission will continue to press for improved respect of existing Community legislation. I repeat again my frustration at the repeated reports from my officials of continued non-respect of Community provisions on animal welfare. Equally, the single biggest immediate and practical measure to promote animal welfare would be the strict implementation of existing legislation. This is just a brief outline of a complex and sensitive issue. Thank you for your attention and I look forward to hearing your views on the issue.
The past several months have seen a sharp rise in interest in animal welfare issues at Community level. There have been several discussions on the issue in the Agriculture Council and a major conference was also organised in Stockholm late last month, as Mrs Winberg has just told you. I was pleased to represent the Commission in all these debates and discussions. Of course, this presidency is not yet over and there will be further opportunities to address animal welfare issues.
This Wednesday I will address Parliament's intergroup on animal welfare for the second time this year. In a little over a week there will be a further discussion in the Agriculture Council. This discussion is intended to lead to a resolution helping to set the future policy agenda. A cynic might argue that all this discussion amounts to hot air and is camouflage for a lack of real progress. I am satisfied that this is not the case.
These discussions are genuinely worthwhile. It is important to build up a solid consensus on the need for more action on animal welfare. We should not forget that until very recently animal welfare was a neglected issue on the Community agenda. This is changing fast. Moreover, I am convinced that it will become even more important in the future.
The reason for the higher profile of this issue is not hard to see. People care deeply about the treatment of animals. They are increasingly intolerant of mistreatment of animals and insistent that our systems of agricultural production must ensure better treatment of animals. These sentiments are also feeding into the market. There is a much greater demand from consumers for information on the conditions in which animals are reared. The public demand more and better information on products and foodstuffs: how and where they are produced, under what conditions and with what ingredients. It makes good business sense to respond to these demands.
I recently received on my desk the results of a reputable survey on consumer attitudes towards key animal welfare issues. The survey results include the interesting information that up to 85% of consumers are prepared to pay more for food produced in accordance with the highest welfare standards. Even if these results are not fully reflected by consumers in their shopping behaviour, there is a clear potential for the market to give greater prominence to higher standards as a competitive tool. These trends will continue to grow and there is no reason why they cannot be accommodated. We already have a system in the EU for the identification and traceability of each individual cow. There is clear potential to use this system to provide information on other important factors, such as the breed of the animal concerned and the conditions in which it was reared.
This argument should also be considered in relation to the global dimension of the trade in animals and animal products. It is essential to share our knowledge on animal welfare with countries outside the European Union and to create a consistent approach towards the issue. In this context, I was pleased to learn that the World Organisation for Animal Health, the OIE, adopted last week at its general session a five-year work programme that includes animal welfare questions. This is the first time that a broad-based international forum, like the OIE, has decided to address this question. The Commission strongly supports this initiative and intends to actively participate in this future development.
This House is, of course, very aware of these concerns. There is an ever-increasing postbag of letters from the general public and from Members of Parliament on animal welfare issues. A disproportionate number of written and oral questions to the Commission are also on this subject. It is our duty and responsibility to reflect on these concerns.
I would like, however, to sound a word of caution on a number of fronts. There are increasing calls for more Community action on animal welfare, but we should be careful that this does not distract attention from the responsibility of all parties to promote higher standards. I spoke at length on this in Stockholm recently. The Commission can ultimately only play a subsidiary role in relation to animal welfare. Certainly, within our area of competence, we must take our responsibilities very seriously. However, Member States continue to have the most important role to play since animal welfare requirements are adopted as minimum standards in European legislation. In addition, Member States are responsible for the day-to-day enforcement of Community legislation in this field. They also have the personnel resources to carry out this role, which the Commission clearly does not have."@en1
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