Brussels, 24/02/2004 (Agence Europe) - In Brussels on Tuesday, the Agriculture Ministers of the EU were divided on how conditions for livestock transport could be improved. Differences of opinion on the Commission's proposal, which dates back to July 2003, focus mainly on maximum transport time and the number of transport cycles (e.g. two cycles of nine hours). The Irish Presidency confirmed its willingness to obtain the ministers' political agreement on this text at the Council of 26 and 27 April. Parliament will return its opinion on the dossier on 9 March (codecision procedure).
Germany, Austria, Sweden and Denmark pronounced themselves in favour of limiting transport time to 8 hours, and two of them (Sweden and Denmark) also pleaded in favour of limiting the number of transport cycles, especially for the most sensitive species (horses, pigs and young livestock). Germany and Austria asked for transport time for animals destined for slaughter to be limited. The United Kingdom said that in the long term, there should be a move towards transporting meat rather than live animals. In the opposite camp, France, Italy, Portugal, Spain and Greece confirmed their opposition to setting a limit to transport time, and spoke out in favour of the interests of the meat and transport sectors. These countries also pointed out that the isolation of extremely remote locations should also be taken into the equation.
The Commission's proposal provides for maximum transport times, varying from 8 to 12 hours depending on the animal species and the age of the animals, beyond which obligatory rest periods are imposed.