The EU platform on the welfare of farmed animals is not a forum for discussing new EU legislation: its goal is to work towards improved implementation of existing provisions, stated European Health and Food Safety Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis at the inaugural meeting of the platform in Brussels on Tuesday 6 June (see EUROPE 11801).
The commissioner told the members of the platform that “many non-legislative actions” could be put in place “which are likely to deliver concrete results sooner than via a legislative route”. The platform can deliver on two aspects which are, in his view, crucial for the future of animal welfare: achieving voluntary but concrete and verifiable commitments on the ground and identifying the best ways to promote the added value of our high animal welfare standards as a competitive advantage on both the EU market and the global level.
Andriukaitis stated that what the platform achieves will depend heavily on what members are ready to offer “in accordance with their expertise, ideas, human or financial resources”. “If you come to the platform only to ask or only to defend your respective positions or interests, I am afraid that we are unlikely to get very far”, he said. And he called on the members of the platform to be responsible and to concentrate on a few priority areas.
Tuesday’s three sessions focused on better implementation, global standards and voluntary commitments. They reflect the priorities of the Commission and set out an interesting framework for the platform’s future activities, the commissioner said. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)