Brussels, 29/09/2005 (Agence Europe) - At the request of numerous Member States and to take account of their criticisms, the European Commission has committed to publishing a study into the costs for operators and consumers of the proposed directive setting minimum protection rules for chickens for meat production (broilers). The proposal was presented for the first time to the Member States at the Agriculture/Fisheries Council in July (EUROPE 8994).
At the meeting of the Special Committee on Agriculture on 26 September, France, supported by an overwhelming majority of delegations, deemed the Commission proposal too costly and bureaucratic. The proposal notably envisages a reduction in rearing densities to 38 kilograms per square metre (kg/m2) (compared to 40 kg/m2 on average currently), or even to 30 kg/m2 on farms which cannot guarantee compliance with very strict animal welfare standards (see the details of the proposal in EUROPE 8959). These countries have therefore requested that the Commission provide a study to assess the costs of the reduction in the rearing density and of the obligation in abattoirs of post-mortem controls of foot pas dermatitis lesions. The Commission proposal does not commit any additional spending from the Community budget, and the costs are to be borne by the Member States, private operators, producers, abattoirs and consumers. This economic study should deal with the competitiveness of the EU's poultry producers, the costs for consumers (reductions in produce and possible price rises) and the costs for producers (training to be followed and installations to be subjected to standards). Only Germany, Sweden, Denmark and Finland - countries which already have stricter rules in terms of stocking density - support the Commission proposal.
The Member States which criticise the proposal make the point that the sector is already hard-hit by: - the often unequal competition from third countries (no labelling, lack of respect for animal welfare); - the consequences of the WTO verdict (a panel recently found in favour of Brazil and Thailand against the EU on the dispute on the import of boneless and frozen salted chicken cuts, with the result that EU is obliged to reduce import duties applicable to this category of chicken breast); - public health crises.
Several Member States, including Germany and the Netherlands, are also demanding obligatory labelling of chicken meat and derived products in order to allow consumers to know the source and quality of the product. Article 5 of the proposal envisages the publication of a report on the subject of labelling two years later, after the adoption of the directive. For the date of entry into force of the directive, the Commission has timetabled the 1 December 2006 at the latest, whereas several Member States are demanding a later transposition date.