European Union – Press Releases

The European Commission adopted today a draft Regulation to curb the accidental capture of cetaceans such as dolphins and harbour porpoises in fishing gear, as this is threatening the conservation of these species. The measures taken by Member States under the 1992 Habitats Directive have been insufficient to adequately protect these animals. The Commission therefore proposes a two-pronged approach: first, a short-term step designed to tackle by-catches by immediately restricting the use of driftnets in the Baltic and phasing them out completely by January 2007, and establishing the mandatory use of acoustic devices on gillnets throughout EC waters to warn off cetaceans. The second part will involve measures to ensure the monitoring of cetacean by-catches with a view to increasing knowledge of the phenomenon. Greater understanding of by-catches and better assessment of cetacean populations are necessary to develop more strategic measures at a later date. This proposal will now go to the Council and the European Parliament – 24 July 2003

http://europa.eu.int/rapid/start/cgi/guesten.ksh?p_action.gettxt=gt&doc=IP/03/1111|0|RAPID&lg=EN

David Byrne, EU Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection, has welcomed the final adoption, at the Agriculture Council today, of an EU Regulation controlling the use of additives in animal feed. The new Regulation will strengthen the control of all types of additives in animal feed, but in particular it completes the EU´s drive to phase out antibiotics as growth promoters. Strengthening rules on the safety of animal feed is one of the cornerstones of the EU's food safety strategy. Banning the use of antibiotics as growth promoters in feed is also vital to efforts to combat anti-microbial resistance. The Regulation will come into force later this year, once it has been published in the EU's Official Journal – 22 July 2003

http://europa.eu.int/rapid/start/cgi/guesten.ksh?p_action.gettxt=gt&doc=IP/03/1058|0|RAPID&lg=EN

The European Commission has adopted a proposed Regulation on animal transport, which will radically overhaul the animal transport rules in Europe. To improve enforcement, the Regulation identifies the chain of all those involved in animal transport and who is responsible for what, as well as introducing efficient enforcement tools, such as checks via the tachograph. It also introduces much stricter rules for journeys of more than 9 hours, including domestic transport which mirror other EU legislation governing the time that drivers can spend on the road. The proposed Regulation recognises that most of the stress on the animals occurs around loading and unloading and therefore introduces rules to deal with situations before and after transport, for example at slaughterhouses or at harbours. It encourages Member States to develop guides of good practice. Currently only about 10% (17,5 million) of animal transport in Europe consists of long distance transports – 16 July 2003

http://europa.eu.int/rapid/start/cgi/guesten.ksh?p_action.gettxt=gt&doc=IP/03/1023|0|RAPID&lg=EN

The European Commission decided to refer Austria, Belgium, Greece and Italy to the European Court of Justice over their apparent failure to implement the 1999 Directive setting out the minimum standards for the protection of laying hens (1999/74/EC). All Member States were obliged to implement the Directive in national law by 1 January 2002 and notify the Commission of the measures taken. The Member States concerned received a “reasoned opinion” in January 2003 but have still failed to implement the Directive, which is why the Commission has now decided to take them to the European Court of Justice. – 14 July 2003