Letter to Director General Sandra Gallina

We, the undersigned members of the ‘EU Platform on Animal Welfare’, are writing to express our concern about the cancellation of the November meeting.

At the beginning of this new political term, especially with the new Commissioner for Health and Animal Welfare due to take the helm before the end of the year, it is essential for us to come together and discuss animal welfare-related priorities for the next mandate.

At this crucial phase, it is vital to continue the important work of the Platform during the new mandate as a multi-stakeholder platform. It would also be important for the platform to discuss the recommendations of the Strategic Dialogue on the Future of EU Agriculture for Animal Welfare. The Strategic Dialogue even further underlined the importance of building bridges between stakeholders, which is also the aim of the platform when it comes to advancing animal welfare and we would support enhancing these efforts in collaboration and exchange for the next Commission’s mandate.

The delaying of the meeting of Platform on Animal Welfare towards the second semester of 2025 with no option of having any exchange before that on any ongoing topic related to animal welfare is not acceptable. The work of the subgroups of the Platform was also delayed. This work is essential to find new ways of mutual understanding and cooperation to move forward on animal welfare. The Commission will still need concrete input from stakeholders on how to integrate and measure the impact of future legislative initiatives on animal welfare in line with the Strategic Dialogue recommendations.

Furthermore, the Platform is an important mechanism of exchange between stakeholders and other bodies, such as the Reference Centers and EFSA, on the topic of animal welfare. It would be important to have updates on these, especially on the imminent renewal of the mandate of the EURCAW on pigs and the EURCAW poultry and smaller animals, as well as the future mandates and technical opinions of EFSA.

We ask you to keep animal welfare high on the agenda during the new political term. We understand that Animal Welfare dossiers need to be carefully assessed and we have always supported the work of the Platform as a linking platform for diverse stakeholders dealing with this topic on a daily basis. The Platform serves a high purpose that is promoting policies in line with EU animal welfare standards. We find it extremely important that we continue the dialogue that this Platform provides.

Concretely, we would like to:

1) Request for a date to be set for the meeting, ideally, still during Q1 2025 (we stand ready to work with you to find alternative solutions, such as virtual meetings).

2) A commitment to have a debate/discussion of the role of animal welfare in the Strategic Dialogue outcomes/vision for EU Agriculture during the rescheduled meeting

3) Highly recommend and encourage the Commission to continue with the work of the EU Platform on Animal Welfare after the end of its mandate in June 2025.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely,
(the undersigned)

• AnimalhealthEurope
• AVEC
• Clitravi
• Compassion in World Farming
• COPA and COGECA
• EFFAB
• ELPHA
• Eurocommerce
• Eurocoop
• Eurogroup for Animals
• European Meat Network
• FEDIAF
• FEFAC
• Four Paws
• FVE
• Green Rev
• Humane Society International/Europe
• Independent Expert, Dr Pol Llonch Obiols
  Independent Expert, Dr Elisabetta Canali
  Independent Expert, Dr Bas Rodenburg
  Independent Expert, Dr Linda Keeling
  Independent Expert, Dr Antonio Velarde
  Independent Expert, Dr Birte Nielsen
• Slow Food
• UECBV
• Welfarm
• World Animal Protection