What changed between the plenary report and the adopted text

P. whereas products of animal origin with geographical indications (GIs) account for nearly 20 % of all EU GIs and represent significant added value for rural economies, reflecting not only their economic importance, but also the cultural value of the EU’s food heritage;

Q. whereas non-price competitiveness, including high standards linked to product safety, traceability and quality, is a key feature of EU livestock production, but incurs higher production costs and product prices compared to the EU’s trading partners; whereas maintaining these high EU environmental, food safety and animal welfare standards affects the international competitiveness of the EU livestock production sector and therefore requires particular attention during the negotiation and conclusion of trade agreements;

R. whereas livestock farmers face a legislative burden, as compliance entails costs, and constant legislative changes generate uncertainty when it comes to making costly investments; whereas a stable legislative framework is an essential guarantee for European farmers in their efforts to plan ahead and to maintain and increase their production potential;

S. whereas the EU’s agricultural promotion policy plays a key role in increasing the visibility and competitiveness of high-quality European agri-food products, including animal products, both on the internal market and internationally; whereas this policy, and the exports to key markets it supports, is an important driver for improving farmers’ revenues and enabling them to further invest in the modernisation of their farms;

T. whereas the number of farm animals, the sizes of farms and herds, the degree of sectoral specialisation, and the intensity of production measured by the number of livestock units per hectare and the proportion of grassland in the utilised agricultural area (UAA) vary greatly from one Member State to another and, within Member States, from one region to another;

U. whereas livestock farming, especially on small and medium-sized farms, is currently facing several economic, environmental and social challenges;

W. whereas in its Vision for Agriculture and Food, the Commission underlines the need for a long-term vision for the livestock production sector and has launched a workstream on livestock that explores policy pathways for a competitive and sustainable EU livestock sector;

X. whereas animal products, when consumed in accordance with World Health Organization guidelines, contribute to a balanced and nutritious diet by providing a stable source of essential nutrients, such as high-quality proteins, vitamins and minerals;

Y. whereas over the next 30 years, global animal protein consumption is expected to grow, which, combined with an increase in the world’s population, will result in a significant rise in demand levels; whereas EU livestock production, as an essential source of high-quality, locally produced protein, should be recognised as a strategic pillar for strengthening the EU’s protein sovereignty and for contributing to economic resilience, strategic autonomy and social responsibility;

Z. whereas it is essential that the EU, which is among the most efficient producers of animal protein in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, preserves its ability to produce animal protein sustainably, as a decline in domestic production or a production shift to regions with less efficient systems would likely lead to higher global greenhouse gas emissions;

AA. whereas, according to the Commission, the EU is only 75 % self-sufficient in crude protein sources and remains dependent on imports for more than 70 % of its vegetable protein needs, such as soybean meal and other oilseed products, which leaves the European farming sector exposed to significant vulnerabilities, including geopolitical instability, trade restrictions and disturbances in the supply chain;

AB. whereas the number of livestock farmers in the EU is decreasing rapidly as a result of economic difficulties, especially linked to limited profitability, as well as the sector’s lack of attractiveness, the challenges posed by the spread of vector-borne and other animal diseases and a major lack of generational renewal; whereas the EU faces a critical shortage of veterinarians specialised in farm animals; whereas the abandonment of livestock production by farmers is also often linked to the concentration of production on large farms and pressure from neighbours not involved in the agricultural sector, including protests about the ‘nuisances’ inherent to livestock and agricultural production, such as odours, noise and dust;

AC. whereas, in this context, it is essential to improve the sector’s attractiveness through income support, streamlined bureaucracy, targeted incentives and improved living conditions in rural areas in order to ensure that livestock farming is viable and helps guarantee the EU’s territorial cohesion;

AD. whereas one of the main challenges facing the European livestock sector is the lack of inclusion of young people and new farmers, as well as labour shortages; whereas it is therefore necessary to facilitate the establishment and takeover of farms by offering targeted start-up support, while combating over-indebtedness among livestock farmers; whereas the income generated by farming is not enough to attract skilled labour to the sector;

AE. whereas more women are working in the EU livestock sector than ever before, and their active participation should be supported and promoted and their contributions better recognised;

AF. whereas agri-food cooperatives are enterprises established by livestock farmers who decide to join forces to market their products together, make joint investments that generate greater value for members and offer services and financing that would be very difficult to obtain otherwise;

AG. whereas the share of direct payments and total subsidies, including investment support, amounts to a considerable part of net farm income for livestock and mixed farming, underlining its essential role; whereas CAP support is not enough to halt the fall in production and the number of farmers and to attract young people into livestock farming, and that it is therefore important to complement farmers’ income deriving from both the market and public support through diversification, such as agritourism, and risk management tools in order to increase their competitiveness, profitability and long-term resilience;

AH. whereas, while price remains the main deciding factor in purchasing decisions, sustainability and health concerns are expected to play a more prominent role, and this will shape production models and consumption patterns for meat and dairy products in the EU;

AI. whereas animal welfare is key to the future of livestock farming, which must evolve to improve farm animals’ living conditions; whereas consumer expectations regarding animal welfare and a change in attitude towards close-confinement housing systems should provide incentives to increase the investments needed to provide animals with better environmental conditions, provided that any additional requirements are based on scientific evidence and go hand in hand with proper remuneration for the extra costs incurred and suitable economic incentives;

AJ. whereas the EU has the most ambitious animal welfare standards in the world, reflecting its commitment to more ethical and sustainable production; whereas the concept of animal welfare should be interpreted and applied in a manner adapted to the real circumstances of production systems and to the agro-climatic, socio-economic and territorial conditions of Member States and regions, which can vary greatly;

AK. whereas demands to mitigate livestock farming’s impact on the environment, especially greenhouse gas emissions, to enhance animal welfare and to shift towards less intensive production should not lead to a reduction in food production and should ensure stable production levels and a good income for farmers, since the expected global increase in animal protein consumption represents an opportunity for the EU to position itself as a global leader in climate- and animal-friendly agriculture by exporting knowledge, technologies and best practice to partner countries;

AL. whereas the farming of livestock, primarily of ruminants, is the only viable way of utilising certain agricultural land, especially permanent grassland, for food production and increasing food security; whereas the EU’s transition to sustainable agricultural models will drive research, innovation, investment and employment both within and beyond the EU;

AM. whereas it is very important to better integrate the circular economy into the emerging bioeconomy, optimising the use of raw materials and secondary products to generate by-products and harness renewable energy sources, such as biogas, and reinforcing the EU’s energy autonomy; whereas these measures, which should not lead to an increased administrative burden for farms, will generate additional income sources for farmers and create new job opportunities;

AN. whereas livestock farming is an essential component of the circular economy, serving Europe’s food security and its energy and ecological transitions; whereas European livestock systems, which are heavily dependent on imports of fertilisers and forage from non-EU countries, need to benefit from incentives enabling them, without compromising the primary aim of meat production, to provide a complementary range of products and services that provide additional income to farmers, including renewable energy production, such as biogas and biomethane, valuable and organic fertilisers, livestock ecosystem services and commodities for the broader industry, in line with the EU’s bioeconomy strategy;

AO. whereas the diversity of European farming systems is a strategic asset and offers huge potential for the EU’s energy and ecological transitions; whereas livestock farming can play a key role in achieving the EU’s climate targets and the decarbonisation of the European energy mix, particularly through the use of livestock effluents;

AP. whereas the manure produced by livestock farms contributes to soil fertility by providing organic matter and essential nutrients, and can also be converted into biogas via methanisation facilities, including at farm level, replacing and reducing dependency on fossil energy sources and reducing the EU’s reliance on fertilisers imported from non-EU countries; whereas, beyond renewable energy production, the methanisation process also produces digestate, a by-product used by farmers as a natural fertiliser, and can be converted into RENURE products, both of which promote a circular economy in the livestock sector;

AQ. whereas changing consumption patterns, in a context of a difficult market situation, make it necessary to act swiftly to secure protection at EU level for names used to designate food of animal origin;

AR. whereas in many parts of Europe, certain large predators, particularly wolves and bears, are expanding their territory or recolonising areas, which brings them into conflict with human activities, especially extensive sheep and cattle grazing; whereas pastoralists and other livestock farmers bear significant costs as a result of predation on their herds, such as costs for preventive measures, the replacement of lost animals, additional veterinary care and losses resulting from abortions; whereas there is a great disparity between Member States and regions in terms of measures to support farmers – with such measures being entirely absent in some cases – and the public funds made available for compensation and adaptation;

AS. whereas animal diseases, and in particular transmissible diseases and those transmissible to humans (‘zoonoses’), can cause serious social, economic and environmental damage and, in some cases, threaten human health;

AT. whereas all strands of the production chain converge in a slaughterhouse, and regional slaughterhouse structures can therefore make a positive contribution to traceability, disease prevention and animal welfare; whereas it is therefore necessary, through the CAP and other funds, to support the establishment and development of slaughterhouses to stimulate the local economy, create jobs and strengthen short supply chains;

AU. whereas climate change is likely to influence the emergence of new animal diseases and the prevalence of existing diseases and their geographical distribution, in particular for vector-borne diseases such as bluetongue and West Nile virus, highlighting the need for anticipatory veterinary strategies; whereas this situation is exacerbated by the shortage of livestock veterinarians, which has implications for preventative veterinary care, early detection and the rapid control of diseases;

AV. whereas the vulnerability of farm systems in the EU has been highlighted by recent animal disease outbreaks and the increased incidence of diseases such as bovine tuberculosis, African swine fever, lumpy skin disease, blue tongue, avian influenza, foot-and-mouth disease, epizootic haemorrhagic disease and infectious bovine rhinotracheitis, combined with the decrease in the number of veterinarians specialised in farm animals, without whom it will be impossible to combat animal diseases and guarantee animal welfare; whereas this vulnerability has manifested itself in devastating impacts on production levels, with consequences for farmers’ mental health due to stress, anxiety and emotional strain;

AW. whereas the prevention of animal diseases through vaccination, where available, is in some cases essential to avoid drastic yet unavoidable control measures such as mass culling; whereas funding for measures to prevent, control and eradicate certain animal diseases under the single market programme is insufficient to help farmers and the Member States in managing new animal diseases;

AX. whereas the threats posed by animal diseases are of major importance for the international trade in EU animals and animal products and make it necessary for the EU’s trading partners to recognise the EU’s system of regionalisation, established in line with WOAH standards and World Trade Organization (WTO) principles to control diseases and/or maintain safe trade by restricting trade from areas affected by disease, while avoiding unnecessary obstacles and trade disruptions in goods from unaffected areas;

AY. whereas, despite being an effective tool to prevent the spread of animal diseases, vaccination has been used as a tool to restrict trade between EU Member States and non-EU countries rather than to facilitate it;

AZ. whereas the EU’s holistic approach to the control of animal diseases is made up of several components, namely the specific control measures in place for the surveillance of each disease, the EU’s financial contribution, the notification system, the EU’s emergency team, the traceability system and the EU reference laboratories for selected diseases;

BA. whereas antimicrobial resistance, a One Health issue encompassing human health, animal health, plant health and the environment, is one of the top three priority health threats identified by the Commission in July 2022, and has a major socio-economic impact on the agricultural sector, as it leads to increased morbidity and mortality in animals and endangers animal health and welfare and, in turn, animal productivity; whereas the CAP and other EU programmes should support the improvement of biosecurity on livestock farms, the promotion of preventive vaccination, training and technical support for farmers, and research into, and the development of, effective and affordable alternatives to the use of antimicrobials in farmed animals;

BB. whereas the first Annual Surveillance Report on the European sales and use of antimicrobials in veterinary medicine (ESUAvet 2023) indicates that the target of a 50 % reduction in antimicrobial sales by 2030 was already around halfway to being achieved by 2023, but warns that these positive developments could be undermined by a rise in animal diseases and the absence of a coordinated EU approach to vaccination, early monitoring, biosecurity and overall disease prevention and preparedness;

BC. whereas the EU Animal Health Law establishes a legal framework to harmonise rules across the sector applying to intra-EU trade, the entry into the EU of animals and products, disease eradication, veterinary controls, notification of diseases, and financial support in relation to different animal species;

BD. whereas existing legislation on transmissible animal diseases includes a comprehensive set of provisions concerning surveillance, eradication programmes and disease-free status, and requires Member States to establish and maintain an up-to-date list of their territories or zones with disease-free status, and of their regions with disease-free status, in accordance with existing legislation on veterinary medicinal products, which allows for the authorisation of vaccines and other animal health products; whereas this legislation forms the core of EU animal disease prevention and management;

BE. whereas preventive and control measures for each animal disease should be tailored to its epidemiological profile, its consequences and its geographical distribution within the EU;

BF. whereas early detection and a clear chain of disease notification and reporting are crucial for effective control; whereas Member States should ensure that the competent authority is immediately notified of any suspicion or confirmation of an outbreak;

BG. whereas it is of crucial importance to ensure uniform conditions for EU disease notification and reporting to maintain a level playing field between Member States and avoid the distortion of competition; whereas the Commission is empowered to establish a list of diseases that are subject to EU notification and reporting, as well as the necessary procedures and format for disease notification and reporting through the Animal Disease Information System (ADIS);

BH. whereas the number of large carnivores in continental Europe in 2012 was estimated at 9 000 Eurasian lynxes, 17 000 brown bears, 1 250 wolverines and 12 000 wolves; whereas there is no uniform, up-to-date EU estimate of large carnivore numbers;

General remarks

1. Welcomes and supports the Commission’s initiative, in its Vision for Agriculture and Food, to set up a workstream on livestock aimed at identifying and developing appropriate policy pathways to support livestock farming and enhance its competitiveness through targeted and territorial solutions rather than a ‘one-size-fits-all’ policy, while taking into account climate, nature and animal protection aspects, in addition to food security, resilience and animal disease management; underlines that the diversity of livestock production, the needs of species and the disparities between local conditions require solutions tailored to a national, regional or sub-regional scale; calls on the Commission to take specific measures in respect of livestock rearing in mountainous, remote and disadvantaged areas;

2. Expresses its concern over initiatives or legislative proposals that, through direct or indirect measures, act as a disincentive to livestock farming; insists that the livestock sector should not be brought under a regulatory regime designed for heavy industries;

3. Calls on the Commission, building on the work of the EU livestock workstream, to establish a high-level group on livestock, modelled on the high-level group on wine policy, involving all relevant stakeholders, including farmers, Member State representatives from the livestock sector, academia and the veterinary profession, representative associations and relevant animal health organisations, industry representatives, and representatives from local authorities; points out that the composition of this group should reflect the plurality of EU territories by providing balanced representation of different regional circumstances, including areas with high livestock densities;

4. Believes that by bringing Member States and stakeholders together, this high-level group should reflect on the challenges faced by the livestock sector and provide concrete and social solutions, based particularly on research conducted in this field; calls for an open and constructive dialogue among all stakeholders to encourage collaboration, develop practical solutions, and ensure fact-based communication on livestock farming; believes that these solutions should address, in particular, the relocation of production outside of Europe, generational renewal and the promotion of investments to foster the competitiveness of livestock farming;

5. Stresses that the specific challenges affecting the livestock sector require a coordinated, multidimensional policy response that, while avoiding trade-offs between these challenges, fully reflects the economic, environmental and social importance of livestock farming within the EU and its rural areas; believes, furthermore, that this policy response should also reflect the sector’s contribution to rural cohesion, food security, sustainable land management, animal welfare and the supply of animal protein on the EU market;

6. Calls on the Commission to provide a stable and predictable framework for farmers by limiting unnecessary regulatory burdens and simplifying livestock rules, especially for small-scale and family farms, thereby facilitating operations and supporting the sector’s development; stresses the need to assess the cumulative impact of EU legislation and to prevent legal uncertainty and administrative burdens caused by EU law and national gold-plating;

7. Points out that improving the social, economic and environmental sustainability of livestock farming depends on a long-term vision addressing a broad and interconnected range of factors, including price and non-price competitiveness, the capacity to adapt to climate change and related extreme weather events, and animal diseases; believes that other highly relevant factors include nutrient pollution, the development and provision of remunerated ecosystem services, targeted investment support, the promotion of animal welfare, innovation and digitalisation incentives, as well as generational renewal, access to support and advisory services and improvement of living and working conditions for livestock producers;

8. Stresses that farmers have the greatest interest in ensuring the good health and welfare of their animals, as doing so is both an ethical and economic imperative; underlines that animal welfare on farms is also linked to the competence of the particular animal keeper; stresses the importance of training and regular further training in this regard;

9. Highlights that the diversity of European livestock farming systems, ranging from free-range farming often involving pastures of high environmental value and endangered farmed species and breeds to large-scale, specialised and highly efficient farms, crop-livestock systems, regenerative and organic farming and pasture farming, seasonal transhumance, forest grazing and small-scale farming of animals for personal use, and the variety of breeds of livestock kept allows farms to provide a range of complementary goods and services, and thereby improves the resilience of the whole livestock sector while satisfying a wide range of consumer demands; calls on the Commission to promote and enable the diversity of production systems;

10. Stresses the need for increased transparency in the allocation and use of EU funds allocated to non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in order to prevent any risk of misuse or undue influence on EU policies; calls on the Commission to establish a public register specifying the amount and purpose of funding received by NGOs; is concerned about the allocation of funds, including through the programme for the environment and climate action (LIFE), to NGOs carrying out lobbying activities before the EU institutions, in particular on animal welfare, thereby potentially violating the principles of separation of powers and sincere cooperation; calls on the Commission to stop funding NGOs conducting targeted lobbying and conveying a misleading, militant and ideological image of livestock farming in Europe; calls on the Commission to ensure that all beneficiaries of consolidated funds disclose their meetings with representatives of the EU institutions when they aim to influence EU policies;

Economic sustainability and food security

11. Notes that maintaining a thriving, sustainable and resilient livestock sector in the EU will benefit global food security, strengthen the EU’s food sovereignty and economic growth and contribute to balanced and diverse European diets through the consumption of animal-based products of high nutritional quality that are a unique source of several micronutrients and bioactive compounds, the nutritional value of which cannot be adequately replaced by plant or artificial alternatives and should be acknowledged when drafting evidence-based dietary guidelines;

12. Notes that the FAO’s 2023 report entitled ‘Contribution of terrestrial animal source foods to healthy diets for improved nutrition and health outcomes’ highlights the role of animal-based foods in providing high-quality protein and essential micronutrients that may be lacking in plant-based diets; stresses that these foods are vital for children, teenagers, pregnant and lactating women, women of reproductive age, older people, and people living with chronic diseases, and that they could be difficult to replace with plant-based alternatives;

13. Strongly underlines the importance of livestock farming for regional value chains and local markets; calls on the Commission to carry out an impact assessment of the social and economic consequences of further dismantling the network of regional slaughterhouses;