An EU Commissioner for Animal Welfare

Question for oral answer  O-000016/2022
to the Commission
Rule 136
Niels Fuglsang (S&D), Sylwia Spurek (Verts/ALE), Petras Auštrevičius (Renew), Manuel Bompard (The Left), Emmanouil Fragkos (ECR), Anja Hazekamp (The Left), Johan Van Overtveldt (ECR), Sirpa Pietikäinen (PPE), Maria Noichl (S&D), Francisco Guerreiro (Verts/ALE), Pascal Durand (Renew), Eleonora Evi (Verts/ALE), Jerzy Buzek (PPE), Tilly Metz (Verts/ALE), Manon Aubry (The Left), Caroline Roose (Verts/ALE), Tanja Fajon (S&D), Saskia Bricmont (Verts/ALE), Isabella Adinolfi (PPE), Alex Agius Saliba (S&D), Alviina Alametsä (Verts/ALE), Anna-Michelle Asimakopoulou (PPE), Margrete Auken (Verts/ALE), Tiziana Beghin (NI), Brando Benifei (S&D), Michael Bloss (Verts/ALE), Anna Bonfrisco (ID), Marc Botenga (The Left), Geert Bourgeois (ECR), Milan Brglez (S&D), Annika Bruna (ID), Martin Buschmann (NI), Fabio Massimo Castaldo (NI), Mohammed Chahim (S&D), Asger Christensen (Renew), Antoni Comín i Oliveres (NI), Andrea Cozzolino (S&D), Josianne Cutajar (S&D), Rosa D'Amato (Verts/ALE), Gwendoline Delbos-Corfield (Verts/ALE), Cyrus Engerer (S&D), Laura Ferrara (NI), Tomasz Frankowski (PPE), Claudia Gamon (Renew), Alexis Georgoulis (The Left), Markéta Gregorová (Verts/ALE), Catherine Griset (ID), Claude Gruffat (Verts/ALE), Sylvie Guillaume (S&D), José Gusmão (The Left), Pär Holmgren (Verts/ALE), Petros Kokkalis (The Left), Stelios Kouloglou (The Left), Alice Kuhnke (Verts/ALE), Stelios Kympouropoulos (PPE), Morten Løkkegaard (Renew), Fulvio Martusciello (PPE), Marisa Matias (The Left), Niklas Nienaß (Verts/ALE), Dimitrios Papadimoulis (The Left), Tsvetelina Penkova (S&D), Kira Marie Peter-Hansen (Verts/ALE), Sabrina Pignedoli (NI), Thijs Reuten (S&D), Manuela Ripa (Verts/ALE), Christel Schaldemose (S&D), Andreas Schieder (S&D), Martin Schirdewan (The Left), Günther Sidl (S&D), Michal Šimečka (Renew), Maria Spyraki (PPE), Vera Tax (S&D), Róża Thun und Hohenstein (Renew), Dragoş Tudorache (Renew), Milan Uhrík (NI), Ernest Urtasun (Verts/ALE), Nikolaj Villumsen (The Left), Marianne Vind (S&D), Petar Vitanov (S&D), Elissavet Vozemberg-Vrionidi (PPE), Thomas Waitz (Verts/ALE), Sarah Wiener (Verts/ALE), Chrysoula Zacharopoulou (Renew), Eugenia Rodríguez Palop (The Left), Manu Pineda (The Left), Idoia Villanueva Ruiz (The Left), Sira Rego (The Left), Ivan Vilibor Sinčić (NI), David Cormand (Verts/ALE), Pierre Larrouturou (S&D), Malte Gallée (Verts/ALE), Marina Kaljurand (S&D), Benoît Lutgen (PPE), Viola Von Cramon-Taubadel (Verts/ALE), Mario Furore (NI), Virginie Joron (ID), François Alfonsi (Verts/ALE), Benoît Biteau (Verts/ALE), Marco Zullo (Renew), Pascal Arimont (PPE), Aurélia Beigneux (ID), Lars Patrick Berg (ECR), Jakop G. Dalunde (Verts/ALE), Sunčana Glavak (PPE), Raphaël Glucksmann (S&D), Elisabetta Gualmini (S&D), Eugen Jurzyca (ECR), Assita Kanko (ECR), Łukasz Kohut (S&D), Georgios Kyrtsos (PPE), Sara Matthieu (Verts/ALE), Vangelis Meimarakis (PPE), Younous Omarjee (The Left), Grace O'Sullivan (Verts/ALE), Alfred Sant (S&D), Mounir Satouri (Verts/ALE), Ivan Štefanec (PPE), Jadwiga Wiśniewska (ECR), Dino Giarrusso (NI), Daniela Rondinelli (NI), Chiara Gemma (NI), Biljana Borzan (S&D), Jytte Guteland (S&D), René Repasi (S&D), Pietro Bartolo (S&D), David Casa (PPE), Ignazio Corrao (Verts/ALE)

Article 13 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union recognises animals as sentient beings. As responses to Eurobarometer surveys have shown, European citizens care about animals, and they would like to see their welfare improved through clear legislation, effective policies and the commitment of adequate resources.

EU legislation on animal welfare has been developed since 1974, but the approach of the EU institutions has been inconsistent, which has contributed to the problem of poor enforcement on various fronts.

The EU commissioner responsible for animal welfare should gain more influence and powers within the EU institutions on this topic, whose importance has been clearly acknowledged by this Commission.

Over 160 000 EU citizens and more than 170 MEPs from all political groups have already joined the #EUforAnimals campaign to demand that animal welfare be given greater importance by making responsibility for it explicit in the name of the relevant Commission directorate‑general and the job title of the competent commissioner.

As such, the commissioner would be given the responsibility for ‘Health, Food Safety and Animal Welfare’, which would greatly support both the legislative progress and proper enforcement.

This would be a significant political decision leading to more accountability for animal welfare in the EU institutions and hence increase the consistency, effectiveness and impact of policymaking in this field.

One of the immediate effects of the proposal would be the establishment of a dedicated directorate on animal welfare within the Commission Directorate‑General for Health and Food Safety (DG SANTE), thus adequately recognising its particular relevance.

Is the Commission planning to respond positively to this proposal? If so, what procedures have been initiated in order to implement it?

Submitted: 28.4.2022

Lapses: 29.7.2022