On Tuesday 10 December, the EU agriculture ministers took note of the progress made at technical level in examining the proposal on animal welfare.
The technical discussions focused in particular on Chapter V (obligations during transport and at the place of destination), according to the Hungarian Presidency of the EU Council (https://aeur.eu/f/eri ). The ministers generally welcomed the progress made to date. They stressed the need to guarantee a high level of animal welfare, while avoiding excessive administrative and financial burdens for operators and distortions to trade.
Due to the complexity of the proposal, the ministers agreed that more in-depth discussions were needed at a technical level, with a particular focus on the cross-cutting issues identified.
“We will seek to find solutions which both respond to our citizens’ expectations, and are also economically and financially viable for our farmers without compromising their competitiveness”, commented the European Commissioner for Animal Health and Welfare, Olivér Várhelyi.
He confirmed that negotiations still had to be completed on the new proposal, particularly with regard to “journey times or transport during low and high temperature seasons”.
“I hope that the Polish Presidency of the Council will be successful on this issue” and that the Council will be able to adopt a position with a view to starting negotiations with the European Parliament, added the European Commissioner. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)