Document type: Answer to Question E-002317/2026 from the European Commission
Authors: Question: Tilly Metz (Greens/EFA), Petras Auštrevičius (Renew), David Cormand (Greens/EFA), Anja Hazekamp (The Left), Manuela Ripa (EPP), Krzysztof Śmiszek (S&D), Sebastian Everding (The Left), Sigrid Friis (Renew), Ville Niinistö (Greens/EFA), Marianne Vind (S&D), Niels Fuglsang (S&D), Emma Fourreau (The Left), Sirpa Pietikäinen (EPP). Response: Mr. Várhelyi on behalf of the European Commission
Question in English:
Revision of Regulation (EC) No 1099/2009 and phase-out of CO₂ stunning of pigs
Each year, over 150 million pigs in the EU are stunned with CO₂ before slaughter. The method causes pain, fear, aversion and severe respiratory distress before loss of consciousness. In opinions from 2004 and 2020, the European Food Safety Authority identified CO₂ stunning as a serious animal welfare concern, concluding that the suffering is inherent and cannot be mitigated by technical improvements. The Commission has acknowledged, including in replies to Written Questions E-003066/2025[1] and E-000625/2026[2], that the PigStun project had identified feasible, already authorised alternatives in Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 1099/2009[3].
No timeline has been provided for revising or phasing out CO₂ stunning. The expectation that the sector will voluntarily transition is not supported by evidence, including PigStun’s finding that slaughterhouses are unlikely to abandon established systems because of cost, reliability and competitiveness concerns. Given the suffering, the available alternatives and the Commission’s commitments under the farm to fork strategy to revise animal welfare legislation, the continued delay raises serious questions regarding compatibility with Article 13 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. The revision should include binding, time-bound rules to phase out CO₂ stunning of pigs.
Given the above:
1. When will the Commission present the revision of Regulation (EC) No 1099/2009?
2. If no revision is planned, what are the reasons for this?
[1] https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/E-10-2025-003066_EN.html.
[2] https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/E-10-2026-000625_EN.html.
[3] Council Regulation (EC) No 1099/2009 of 24 September 2009 on the protection of animals at the time of killing (OJ L 303, 18.11.2009, p. 1, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2009/1099/oj).
Answer in English:
As mentioned in the reply to the written parliamentary Question E-000625/2026[1], alternatives evaluated within the PigStun project[2], as well as methods including lower CO2 concentrations, are already included in the positive list in Annex I of Regulation (EC) No 1099/2009[3] and are authorised for use in the EU without requiring regulatory changes.
As announced in the 2025 Communication on A Vision for Agriculture and Food[4], the Commission is working on the revision of the animal welfare legislation. The Commission is focusing on the areas that are most in need of modernisation, which at this stage, do not include Regulation (EC) No 1099/2009.
[1] https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/E-10-2026-000625-ASW_EN.html.
[2] https://eurcaw-pigs.eu/dossier/pigstun.
[3] ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2009/1099/oj.
[4] COM/2025/75 final.
