WRITTEN QUESTION No. 782/98 by James PROVAN to the Commission. Hens in battery cages
Date: 1998-03-18
Institutions: European Parliament, PROVAN
Subjects: Community body, application of EU law, foodstuffs legislation, intensive livestock farming, laying poultry, plant health legislation, protection of animals, recruitment, veterinary inspection, veterinary legislation

C 310/128

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

9. 10. 98

It  should  also  be  noted,  as  shown  by  figure  3,  that  at  31  December  1997  almost  90%  of  the  outstanding
commitments originated during the current programme. Most of the commitments prior to the present period
have been cleared.

Lastly,  the  Commission  would  inform  the  Honourable  Member  that  it  is  currently  working  on  cumulative
1994-97 data relating to the utilisation of Structural Fund appropriations in terms of commitments and payments
and to the trend in outstanding commitments by Fund and by Member State. Once the work is completed, the
results will be communicated to the budgetary authority.

(98/C 310/172)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0782/98

by James Provan (PPE) to the Commission

(18 March 1998)

Subject: Hens in battery cages

Under Article 7 of Directive 88/166/EEC (1) on minimum standards for the protection of laying hens in battery
cages, the Commission is required to carry out inspections to ensure uniform application.

Now that the Veterinary Inspectorate has been relabelled, moved to new headquarters, and has received more
inspectors, would the Commission say how many inspections of battery cage units were carried out in 1997 and
is the Commission satisfied that the provisions of 88/166/EEC are being properly implemented in all Member
States?

(1)  OJ L 74, 19.03.1988, p. 83.

Answer given by Mrs Bonino on behalf of the Commission

(16 April 1998)

The Food and veterinary office (FVO) has a very wide range of responsibilities in monitoring the manner in
which Community veterinary, food and plant health legislation is implemented.

There are presently 46 inspectors in the FVO. Part of the existing veterinary inspection resources in the office is
already given over specifically to the monitoring of animal welfare controls, although this remains at the moment
a  minor  part  of  the  FVO  inspection  work.  Due  to  the  extreme  pressure  of  work  associated  with  bovine
spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) controls, and the need to respond to health emergencies, it was not possible to
include in the mission programme for 1997 the area of animal welfare to which the Honourable Member refers.

However, the Commission is significantly increasing the number of staff allocated to the office to allow it to
undertake the full range of its duties. Inevitably, this recruitment process, and the completion of necessary staff
training, will take some time. Nonetheless, the Commission is aware of the importance attached to all aspects of
animal welfare, which will be given their due weight in future decisions as to the allocation of the resources
required by the FVO to carry out its duties.

The  Honourable  Member  may  wish  to  note  that  the  FVO  is  introducing  a  risk  assessment-based  mission
prioritisation system. This will ensure that mission programmes reflect a balanced assessment of the different
control and inspection demands placed upon it.