Any attempt by EU egg producers to evade the ban on conventional cages, due to take effect in January 2012, must be resisted, says a European parliament resolution, approved in Brussels on Thursday (16 December).
MEPs want the EU Commission to take urgent action to ensure that egg producers in all member states comply with the ban, while national action plans with "dissuasive sanctions" should be put in place, they say.
"The commission must reveal, at the latest by 31 March 2011, the measures it envisages taking in order to ensure compliance with the Directive," says the resolution. "Such measures should protect producers who are compliant against unfair competition from producers who continue unlawfully to use battery cages."
The resolution was approved by a massive 459 votes in favour, with just 32 against and 17 abstentions.
The MEPs are concerned that up to 30% of EU egg production may not comply with the ban by the 1 January 2011 deadline. They point to a risk of egg shortages and significant price increases, as eggs which are not produced in compliance with the Directive "are not legally marketable in the EU".
Even so, the parliament opposes any postponement of the ban, since this "would seriously harm the welfare of hens".
It also asks the commission to submit, by 31 December 2011, a list of egg and egg-product producers, processors and retailers who are not complying with the law.
Speaking in Brussels, Conservative MEP Jim Nicholson said: "There is only one year left for producers to change to enriched cages. It seems to me that the commission has no plan in place to ensure poultry farmers who have conformed to the rules don't lose out to those who have not."
Source: Farmers Weekly Interactive
