MEPs have voted in the European Parliament to maintain the existing rules (and against extending the industrial emissions directive) that covered pig farms with more than 2,000 places for pig production (more than 30 kg), or with more than 750 places for sows, and those for birds with more than 40,000 places, as well as farms with at least 750 livestock units. Despite this, the Parliament has not included cattle in this top. Parliament has also underlined the importance of ensuring that non-EU producers meet similar requirements to Community standards.
Parliament has recognized that the directive is a piece of legislation that ignores the basic realities of the livestock sector. The expansion of this proposal would cause a very high cost increase, causing the closure of livestock farms and displacing production to non-EU countries, as the different associations have expressed.
For Copa and Cogeca, the MEPs have sent a clear message of support for the agricultural sector.
