Additional dialogue with stakeholders is deemed necessary before any revision of animal welfare legislation, according to the European Commission, as reported by Euractiv, following innovative legal actions brought by activists angered by its failure to deliver on the promised ban on cage farming.

The European Commission informed the European Parliament in March that the abandoned proposals of the EU executive require consultation with stakeholders and a sufficient transition period for the agricultural sector. The "Strategic Dialogue" initiative.

Elisa Ferreira, the European Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms, stated that she believes the "Strategic Dialogue" initiative launched by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen earlier this year would be an ideal forum for discussions.

Documents filed The response came as the Citizens' Committee of the European Citizens' Initiative (ECI) filed documents with the Court of Justice of the European Union outlining its case, demonstrating that the Commission failed to fulfill its promise to introduce legislation banning cages in response to the successful ECI, which was introduced with the specific intent of giving EU citizens more influence over the institution's decision-making process.

In 2021, the Commission made a clear commitment to introduce legislative proposals to ban cage farming in the EU by the end of 2023, following the ECI, which was signed by 1.4 million people and supported by a coalition of 170 NGOs, led by Compassion in World Farming.

It is the first time that the Commission has been held accountable for a failure to act on an ECI. If successful, the Commission would be required to publish its proposals within a clear and reasonable timeframe and grant access to its file on the End the Cage Age ECI. Olga Kikou, from the Citizens' Committee to End the Cage Age ECI, stated that the European Commission has failed its people and has failed the 300 million animals suffering in cages:

"There is no justification for any further delay... We will not rest until every cage is an empty cage." Eurobarometer survey In October last year, the Commission's Eurobarometer survey found that 9 out of 10 EU citizens believe that animals should not be raised in individual cages.

The Commission's scientific advisors, the European Food Safety Authority, also supported the phased elimination of cages for welfare reasons for laying hens, pigs, dairy calves, ducks, quails, and rabbits. (Photo: Dreamstime)