Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-12-16-Speech-4-011"
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"The need to ensure that animal welfare is improved during transport as a matter of day-to-day reality and not just on the statute book is an important objective for me. I have long been aware of the unsatisfactory way that the current legislation on transport is being applied and of the apparent lack of priority given to this area of legislation by national authorities.
To sum up, we stated in the Council that the Commission reserves the right to respond in accordance with the rules of the Treaty, with due regard to the welfare requirements of animals. Therefore, the Commission will continue to be vigilant and will closely monitor the situation on animal transport in Member States. We are prepared to take a legislative initiative at any time in the future should animal welfare conditions need further improvement.
I would like to comment on two more issues. First, the improvement of animal welfare is a continuous process. It is not just a regulation, we are already working on other improvements on poultry and on microclimates within the transport vehicles. Therefore it is not the end, it is just the beginning.
At the same time, I have looked at what the options were at the last Council meeting. They were not between the optimum maximum and the compromise, they were between the compromise and continuing indefinitely with the present situation, with all the unacceptable conditions that prevail at this point. I am certain you will understand that if one has the responsibility of taking a decision, one has to weigh the pros and cons and decide in which direction to go. I can assure you that the Commission's only concern on this issue was the welfare of the animals and how to make practical improvements as soon as possible. It was not just to insist on a principle which eventually would harm the animals, because it would not enable us to improve the existing conditions in any way.
I repeat, the present compromise significantly improves the present situation without depriving the Commission of the right to come back to these very important issues. Believe me, it was a Commission proposal. We would have been much happier if these provisions were included and accepted in the compromise. But, unfortunately, there was no possibility of such an agreement. If I may, I suggest talking to the various NGOs. They were not happy but they accepted this compromise because they realised that it is a significant step forward.
Finally – and I would be interested to hear your comments as I feel that Parliament will be a significant ally of the Commission in this matter – I can assure you that my intention is, before the end of this Commission's term and definitely before the end of this Parliament's term, to come back with a new proposal and have a new discussion. The Commission is committed to this. But, the big question and the big challenge will be to convince the Member States to accept this new proposal when it comes.
The correct and full enforcement of animal welfare legislation is essential, as is the immediate improvement of the conditions of animal transport. This is why the Commission, despite its desire to do more to restrict transport-by-road times and reduce stock intensity on vehicles, accepts the presidency's step-by-step initiative in the Council.
We felt it was important to make the significant progress that was already within our grasp, rather than to defer the whole dossier to a later indefinite date. This, as I will point out later, is without prejudice – and I would like to emphasise this – to any improved future solution. In doing this, we have opted for much stricter rules, significantly improving current conditions, to be applied as soon as possible. They will cover matters such as long-distance transport or new, substantially upgraded standards for vehicles. These will be enforced in the shortest possible time within EU standards.
I wish to point out that the vast majority of Parliament's amendments have been integrated and incorporated into the final text and I thank Parliament for its important contribution.
I have no problem in admitting that it is unfortunate that there was no agreement on the issue of restrictions on the travel time and the transport density. There was no chance – and I have to be frank about this – of such provisions being supported in the Council, and the failure to reach agreement at the April 2004 Agricultural Council was a clear warning. But failure to reach agreement at the last Council would have meant an indefinite continuation of the existing unacceptable conditions and a significant delay in their improvement. This does not mean, however, that the Commission does not believe that all possibilities for reinforcing the provisions on travel time should and will be exploited in the future.
Firstly – and this is not the only possibility – the final text provides for the Commission to report back to the Council within – not after – four years of the date of implementation on the issue of travel time and loading densities and possibly to modify its approach on the basis of the experience acquired from the application of the new rules. However, in addition – and this is important – regardless of what the regulation provides, the Commission will carefully analyse the situation, including the prevailing political conditions, and will avail itself of its power of initiative. I
retained this right when giving our consent to the compromise.
Let me briefly list some of the improvements that this new regulation will introduce in the near future. I have a list of four pages and I will not read them all. Before I do so, I want to remind honourable Members that the regulation states that Member States have the right to adopt and implement stricter rules within their territory than those provided for in the regulation. Therefore, this is a challenge for the Member States, and it is a challenge for you. If enough Member States adopt stricter rules then the political pressure – the peer pressure – on the rest would be much more evident and effective. However, we need the improvements in the existing regulation.
Firstly, a satellite navigation system will be used on road vehicles from 2007. There will be forced ventilation and temperature monitoring inside the trucks, with improvements in water facilities and drinking facilities, individual stalls for the transport of horses and other conditions in relation to horses. There will be stricter conditions for the training of drivers and a ban on transporting pregnant, sick and wounded animals. There will also be administrative provisions to ensure consistency between checks by officials in different Member States. This will apply to all journeys.
As you will be aware, the use of satellite navigation systems was promoted by the European Parliament last month and supported by the Commission. This represents an innovative and promising tool to monitor animal transport, and the Commission is ready to invest immediately in this. The proper use of this technology will contribute to the promotion of a more transparent and high-quality approach to animal transport in Europe, in tune with the wishes of our citizens but also enabling better enforcement. This is extremely important. It is not enough to regulate or adopt rules, we must have the means to enforce them and to supervise their enforcement. European citizens have pointed out on innumerable occasions and in many ways that the lack of effective enforcement has been an appreciable weakness of the current system. I fully agree with that. I am determined and committed to ensuring better enforcement of animal welfare rules and to insisting that Member States report precisely on the state of play of the controls carried out. We will continue to press Member States for this information and I am pleased that the new legislation will allow us to do so in a more efficient way."@en1
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