Document type: Answer from the European Commission to Question P-000369/26
Authors: Question: Manuela Ripa (EPP). Answer: Mr. Várhelyi on behalf of the European Commission
Question: In 2024, following repeated calls from EU citizens, the Commission appointed the first-ever Commissioner responsible for animal welfare. The Commissioner is currently responsible for several major files related to animal welfare, including the forthcoming response to the European Citizens’ Initiative entitled ‘Fur Free Europe’, concerning the revision of EU farm animal welfare legislation, and the implementation of new legislation on the welfare of dogs and cats.
In this context, could the Commission clarify the following in concrete terms:
1.How many resources (in terms of the number of full-time equivalent staff and other relevant staff or budgetary allocations) are currently dedicated to animal welfare, both within the Commissioner’s cabinet and at directorate-general level?
2.What changes are expected in terms of the resources it allocates specifically to animal welfare in the coming years?
Answer: 1. In the Commission ’s Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety (DG SANTE), there is a dedicated unit (SANTE.G.3) responsible for animal welfare[1]. The work of that unit, which currently counts 14 members (including two seconded national experts) insofar as animal welfare-related matters are concerned, is presented in the Directorate-General’s Annual Activity Reports[2]. As for any cross-cutting policy area, other Directorate-Generals contribute with their staff to the Commission’s work on animal welfare-related affairs.
In the Cabinet of the Commissioner for Health and Animal Welfare, there is a policy assistant responsible for animal welfare and a Member of Cabinet following animal welfare related dossiers from the European Parliament[3].
2. The allocation of human resources is decided on an annual basis, based on how the needs develop in the respective policy areas, with the evolution of external — and sometimes unforeseen — factors considered, such as pandemics and other crises. It is therefore not possible to provide a prediction of how the resources allocated specifically to animal welfare will evolve in the coming years.
[1] https://commission.europa.eu/document/download/277adfe3-745d-40ad-b530-450af9d715e2_en?filename=organisation-chart-dg-sante_en.pdf.
[2] E.g. the 2024 Annual Activity Report: https://commission.europa.eu/publications/annual-activity-report-2024-health-and-food-safety_en.
[3] https://commission.europa.eu/about/organisation/college-commissioners/oliver-varhelyi/oliver-varhelyis-team_en.
From the European Parliament website
