24/05/2022 (Agence Europe) – Despite a call from several EU Agriculture Ministers on Tuesday 24 May, the European Commission is refusing to provide a new EU legislative framework for a positive list of species allowed as pets. This Cypriot request was supported in particular by the Lithuanian, Luxembourg and Maltese delegations. “Introducing an EU-wide positive list would mark a systemic change, raising questions of WTO compatibility, and would be very difficult to implement”, responded Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides. “There is also no scientific evidence supporting such an approach”, she added, before concluding: “We are therefore not entirely convinced that a white list would prove more effective than the wide range of existing policy and legislative instruments”. (LC)