A majority of EU agriculture ministers criticised several elements of the proposal to revise the 2010 directive on industrial emissions in Brussels on Monday 26 September.
The Commission has proposed to extend the scope to cattle, pig and poultry farms with more than 150 ‘livestock units’ (i.e. approximately 150 adult cows, 10,000 hens, 500 pigs or 300 sows), which would represent 185,000 farms in the EU (see EUROPE 12929/15).
Agriculture Ministers will not negotiate on this text, which falls under the competence of the Environment Council, but many have expressed concern about the effects of the proposal on livestock farming, especially cattle farming.
Marc Fesneau, the French minister, considered the threshold of 150 livestock units (LU) “unacceptable”, as it does not take into account certain virtuous models (extensive farming). These standards, once in force, should also apply to agricultural products imported from third countries, France stressed, referring to the notion of reciprocity.
Luis Planas, the Spanish Minister, also considered the proposed threshold of 150 LUs too low and “disproportionate”.
Italy criticised the “mistakes” in the proposed text, including treating livestock as an industrial sector.
“The 150 LU limit is not justified” Ireland insisted. Several countries, such as Romania and Italy, have mentioned the risks of many farms disappearing due to the new standards.
Belgium asked to exempt small family farms.
Other delegations also criticised the proposal (Estonia, Cyprus, Malta, Latvia, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Portugal...), as did Hungary (which spoke of “serious reservations” about the text) and Poland (which believes that the proposed thresholds “will not work”).
Northern European countries are rather positive. Northern European countries have generally welcomed this proposal, albeit with some nuances. Denmark welcomed the inclusion of livestock. “We can envisage an extension of the text to livestock” said the Netherlands.
Finland considered that the broadening of the scope was a good thing, “but it should not put too much pressure on the farmers”, according to the Finnish minister. He suggested, as did others, that longer transitional periods should be provided for, differentiated according to species categories.
Sweden welcomed the proposal, while noting that the rules should not “jeopardise food safety and the competitiveness of the agricultural sector”.
Germany supported the proposal, but recognised that the threshold and registration requirements could be problematic. Finally, Germany felt that the Commission was reserving a lot of power for itself through the proposed delegated acts. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)