Agriculture Council adopt Directive amending current legislative rules on the protection of pigs but fail to agree on the meat and bone meal ban
These are the main decisions of the Agriculture Council meeting 19 June.
1) Welfare of Pigs Directive
The amended Council Directive includes rules that:
- Prohibit the confinement of pregnant pigs to individual stalls
- Improve the living environment of pigs and piglets
- Requires permanent access to rooting materials and fibre food.
2) MBM Ban
The Standing Veterinary Committee was unable to vote through the proposal for an extension of the ban on meat and bone meal on 13 June. The matter had to be discussed at the 19-20 Agriculture Council meeting. Ministers were unable to reach a qualified majority either for or against this decision and the matter will therefore go back to the Commission. The Commission can now adopt the proposal that may lead to a maximum extension until 2003 for the ban.
3) Animal Transport Regulation Proposal
- Resolution urging the Commission to come up with a proposal for improvements in this field.
4) Classical swine fever Directive
- Applicable from July 2002
- Prohibits feeding of catering waste to pigs
- Continue the non-vaccination policy based on the culling of all pigs in farms infected with CSF
- Foresee a possible wider use in future of vaccination in emergencies through the use of marker vaccines
- Refines and reinforces existing control measures (extending notification obligations and provisions on CSF diagnosis).
5) Olive Oil Subsidy Reform
- Decided on a reform of the market regulations
- Adopted Council conclusions on the Commission’s report on a quality strategy for olive oil:
- Extension of regulatory framework for production aid until 1 November 2004 (See EURACTIV 19 June 2001).