Document type Answer to question E-000612/23 from the European Commission
Authors: question: Aurélia Beigneux (ID). Answer: Mr Sinkevičius on behalf of the European Commission
Answer in French: Trade in endangered animals is regulated by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
The EU and its Member States are parties to CITES. CITES is transposed in the EU by the Council Regulation (EC) No 338/97[1] and a series of Commission implementing regulations, which also deal with the movement of animals listed under CITES within the EU.
In line with this legal framework, it is the Member States and not the Commission that monitor the trade and the intra-EU movement of animals in their territory through the issuance and exchange of permits and certificates.
Fighting wildlife trafficking is one of the EU priorities under the EU Adaptation of the animal to the environment Strategy for 2030[2]. The Commission adopted a new EU Action Plan against Wildlife Trafficking on 9 November 2022[3], which aims to provide a comprehensive framework for the EU to effectively address this crime, built around four priorities: (1) Preventing wildlife trafficking and addressing its root causes; (2) strengthening the legal and policy framework against wildlife trafficking; (3) enforcing regulations and policies; (4) strengthening the global partnership.
Under its Farm to Fork Strategy[4], the Commission committed to revise, by 2023, EU animal welfare legislation[5] with a view to aligning it with the latest scientific evidence, broadening its scope, making it easier to enforce and ultimately ensuring a higher level of animal welfare.
However, the Commission’s proposal will not cover the welfare of wild animals used in circuses as this matter remains the sole competence of the Member States.
