The European Commission said on Wednesday 8 February that there would be no derogations for producers of free range eggs who are being forced to keep their hens in barns as a result of the avian flu epizootic. They will have to sell their produce as “barn eggs”. European Commissioner Phil Hogan said, however, he would be willing at a later date to consider reviewing the legislation.
In a letter to Czeslaw Siekierski (EPP, Poland), who chairs the European Parliament’s agriculture committee, Hogan confirms that the Commission does not intend to grant a derogation to egg producers to allow them to continue to label their eggs as “free range” despite the confinement measures that have been imposed to prevent the spread of bird flu. Under EU rules, if free range hens are kept inside for more than twelve weeks, their eggs may no longer be marketed as “free range”, resulting in substantial losses of income for producers, as the Netherlands pointed out at the Council meeting on 23 January (see EUROPE 11710).
Commissioner Hogan points out that exceptional market support measures in the event of animal diseases are provided for under the common organisation of the market (CMO) regulation and may be activated, if necessary, at the request of a member state. These measures must be 50% co-financed by the member state which makes the request – provided that the said member state has taken swift veterinary and health action to end the epizootic. The measures may cover costs related to slaughter and fallowing but not loss of income resulting from product re-labelling.
Consumers who pay more for free range eggs must be protected. European standards cannot be jeopardised, Hogan says in his letter. He promises, however, to undertake a review of marketing standards “with a view to a possible modification of the current rule in light of the prolonged epidemic such are we are experiencing right now”.
Elsewhere, in reply to a written question put to him by some 20 French MEPs from the EPP Group, Hogan indicates that it is “still too early to assess the financial impact of the outbreak on the European poultry sector”. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)