Document type: Article published in the May 2023 issue of the Newsletter of theEuropean Institute for Animal Law & Policy
Author: Animal Law in Europe
Preview: The leaked Economic Impact Assessment contains economic evaluations of the different animal welfare rules that the Commission will consider when drafting the new EU farm animal welfare legislation. This document also lists recommendations based on the outcome of these evaluations. (For those who are familiar with EU law, we now know this legislation will take the form of a "package" of four regulations.)
The Economic Impact Assessment contains the following recommendations:
- Phase out of cages for all species
- Increased space allowance for all species
- Prohibition on mutilations (likely: beak trimming and tail docking)
- Prohibition on the systematic killing of male chicks
- Lower maximum duration times for the transport of live animals on their way to be slaughtered
- Welfare requirements for the stunning of farmed fish
- Prohibition on water bath stunning for poultry andCO2 stunning for pigs
- Extraterritoriality of EU legal animal welfare standards to imports (likely including sales bans on animal-source products that do not comply with EU law)
Although encouraging, the information contained in the leaked Economic Impact Assessment should be viewed with several caveats in mind:
- The leaked text is not the latest version, so it should not be viewed as a final draft.
- An Economic Impact Assessment document is just one of many instruments that influence the drafting of new legislation. Along with the Economic Impact Assessment, the European Commission will also look at the EFSA Opinions, and the numerous studies it has commissioned to private consultancies (including on the issues of transport and labeling). Regarding cages in the egg industry, the European Commission will likely also take into consideration the results of a pilot project on hen welfare, which were presented to the European Parliament on May 3rd.
- Based on these many factors, the European Commission will publish its proposal for new legislation in October. This proposal will undergo several rounds of negotiations with the European Parliament and the Council of the EU. Of course, while the European Commission's proposal will set the tone for what will end up in the new legislation, the Commission will adapt their proposal to the political positions of the European Parliament and the Council of the EU, so as to facilitate subsequent negotiations and to avoid a situation wherein the new legislation gets buried.
Overall, there is nothing surprising in the recommendations the European Commission has formulated in the leaked draft of its Economic Impact Assessment, in light of the official announcements and discussions that have been taking place in Brussels over the past two years. However, the Economic Impact Assessment draft confirms for the first time that the European Commission is considering long transition periods, so the only new takeaway is not a particularly positive one.
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