Luncheon-debate held with Maciej Golubiewski, Head of Cabinet of the European Commissioner for Agriculture
On Tuesday October 24rd, the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium held a new luncheon-debate in the framework of its “Business Circle” forum, in which Maciej Golubiewski, Head of Cabinet of Janusz Wojciechowski, European Commissioner for Agriculture, spoke on “The new regulatory policy on animal welfare and its impact on European productivity”.
The president of the Chamber, Pablo López-Álvarez, opened the lunch by introducing the subject of the debate, giving a summary of the speaker’s professional career, and giving way to the Secretary General of Avianza (the event’s sponsoring association), Jordi Montfort.
In his speech, Montfort wanted to highlight the commitment of the Spanish agricultural and livestock sector to sustainable, safe, healthy and affordable production. The Secretary General of Avianza also expressed the sector’s concern about the new regulatory package on animal welfare that the Commission is working on and which, he explained, would lead to a significant increase in costs for producers.
Animal welfare
Golubiewski then took the floor and began his speech by saying that the Commission wants to support the agri-food industry and that its attention is in the interests of the sector. “The agricultural sector has undergone many changes over the last 60 years and its expansion has had some environmental costs,” he said.
In that sense, Golubiewski defended the animal welfare legislation by stating that it is based on scientific knowledge and seeks to ensure that animals remain productive. This legislation includes measures on the farms themselves, during the transport of animals and at the time of killing. It also aims to create a European quality label for meat produced in member countries.
“We work through incentives, not mandates,” continued the speaker, who also said that financial aid would be mobilised at European level to help farmers guarantee the welfare of their animals.
At the end of the presentation, there was an extensive question and answer session in which, among other issues, the willingness of European citizens to pay more for meat products in order to improve animal welfare and how these measures could negatively affect producers were discussed.
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