On 28 January, several MEPs of the European Parliament’s Committee on the Environment called on the European Commission to take measures to stop pilot whale hunting in the Faroe Islands.
Members of the S&D, Renew Europe, Greens/EFA and The Left groups criticised the Commission for its lack of firmness in the face of these massacres. Although part of Denmark, the Faroe archipelago is not subject to the treaties or to European Union law, the Commission pointed out.
Cristina de Avila, from the Directorate-General for Environment, nevertheless described grindadráp (traditional cetacean hunting) as “very worrying” from the point of view of animal welfare and species conservation. She indicated that her services would propose to the European External Action Service (EEAS) that this subject be put on the agenda for the EU/Faroe Islands consultation scheduled for September 2026. “European law does not apply there, and responsibility for the hunting of pilot whales and dolphins lies with the Faroese authorities”, she said, adding that the EU and its member countries had already condemned the killings.
César Luena (S&D, Spanish) pointed out that 1,400 dolphins had been killed and suggested that the Commission act by freezing EU programmes for the Faroe Islands, revising fisheries agreements, changing the labelling of Faroese fisheries products and reopening the 1997 free trade agreement. However, Cristina de Avila replied that such an option was not being considered at this stage.
Martin Hojsík (Renew Europe, Slovakian), Tilly Metz (Greens/EFA, Luxembourgish), Jutta Paulus (Greens/EFA, German) and Sebastian Everding (The Left, German) also denounced these practices. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)