European Union: outcome of a trilateral ministerial meeting on animal welfare

The Council of European Ministers of Agriculture was briefed by the Danish, German and the Netherlands delegations about the outcome of a trilateral ministerial meeting on animal welfare which took place on 14 December 2014 in Vught in the Netherlands. In this context, a joint declaration was adopted by the three member states.

Several member states supported the initiative. However some noted that considering the high level of EU standards for animal welfare, reciprocity should be requested from third countries exporting to the EU. Some pointed out also that one should ensure that existing legislation is correctly applied before having new proposals in this area.

Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands considered that the EU should work further on the animal welfare policy and regulation and focus on:

• better regulation, to develop proposals for a simpler and modern legislation in the area;
• better welfare, to improve the current level of animal welfare in several areas when legislation exists;
• promotion of knowledge and raise awareness on animal welfare issues.